Experiment Bandicoot
by Neo Yi
Summary: The origin of Crash, the research of Cortex. How he and Crash relate with one another. The story of their lives from beginning to end. A look beyond the hero and scientist. LAST CHAPTERS ADDED! Chapter 18 and 19!
1. Origin

**Experiment Bandicoot:  
Chapter 1:  
Origin**

**Author's Note: 5/1/05 (IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ!): **Okay, first off, I APOLOGIZE for the lack of update. Unfortunately, my computer decided to crap out on me. My Network card refuse to read my internet access. After weeks of trying to fic the durn thing with my sister, we manage to get it sent to a professional who made everything all right. So, everything is cool and all is right in the world…for now.

**Changes:**  
Any who, during my last two months, I pretty much wrote the rest of the _Experiment Bandicoot_ fanfic, so I will be posting up these new fanfics, **PLUS**, as a bonus to you all, I also**am reediting the past chapters so you get a newer, revised Experiment Bandicoot Director's Cut edition.** I mainly wanna do these just so I can add a few scenes, mostly notably more information on Akio and Tobias, Tawna having an Australian accent, typos and other grammar mistakes, etc. Read WAY below for the changes I made to know. So, here are thefirst fourrevised chapters, plus two new ones, and then some. My way of apologizing for two months of no show, even though it's my Network Card's fault. stabs computer

…………

Castle Cortex, an exceptionally beautiful piece of real estate. Back during its prime, it housed the location of a scientist who has had his fair shares of madness and tragedy. The man sported some of the greatest inventions never known other then himself and his close colleagues.

Hundreds of years had passed since anyone has last set foot in this castle. What we have here are files of studies and research, as well as observations, from one Dr. Neo Cortex and his cohorts. The research of one experiment of is dubbed "Crash Bandicoot." There are photos everywhere of Cortex with this furry being. Cortex seems to hold this "Crash" like a father would to his son. These files contain both the research and personal life between the two…

…………………

**Year X, Day X  
**I divulged myself in the world of science, ever since I could remember. I spent many a day tinkering with chemistry and gadgets. Obviously, as a scientist and an ever growing interest in my love for science, I would be willing to play God and create things that should never exist.

Now, I've made a handful of machinery, but I've always wanted to dabble in the fields of biology. Using my knowledge behind it, my colleague, N. Brio and I, manage to create the Evolve-O-Ray, a machine that turned small normal animals into living walking, talking two legged creatures. I believe they are referred to as "Anthros". In honestly, there are a fair amount of anthros that I manage to find in my stay on the small islands of Australia. In fact, it was due to these anthros that I was interested in creating more. I saw the population of the anthro species. There were hardly any of these exotic beings, I wanted to help them.

Our machine took many months to make and many wasted money, but we finally created it in due time. Of course, between the finished model and the beginnings, tragedy has befallen onto me.

**A family lost  
**I've lost two families. I was born Matsuki Ichigoya of Tokyo, Japan. My parents were two of the richest beings alive in Japan. My father owned an electric company and he would take me every chance he got and taught me the values of money, ruling, and generally business tips. Because I looked up to my father, I listened to every word he said. My father was a greedy, power hungry man, but unlike most business men of that sort, that was his strength, not his weakness. My mother wasn't unlike most mothers. She didn't care or nurtured me, no, that was the maid. My mother was strict and sharp tongue, quite heavy into manners and proper etiquette. My little sister was Hanako. She was a saving grace in my life with my parents. A kind, sweet, polite girl, she followed me everywhere, her "big brother".

I was born with yellow skins and short height, so I was rather looked down by my parents and family, but my father still made it my business to learn his way. I was the oldest, the next to own the family mansion and the electric company. My life in school wasn't any better. Because of what I looked like, I was picked on and bullied. My little sister kept my sanity intact throughout the years. She was my biggest supporter, the one to talk with when my life turned blue, the one whom I could cry in front off (father would never forgive me if I cried in front of him).

By the time I was 17, I became rather bitter and cynical…until I met the lovely Candy. Candy Williams. An American who came to Japan to study. She and I were roughly the same age. I volunteered to show her around Japan when she came to my school. She was a witty woman, as well as smart and clever. She looked past my appearance and saw the real me. I was madly in love with her that I asked for her hand in marriage in only the small two months I've gotten to know her. I was surprised when Candy said, "yes". I eagerly announced out engagement to the family and my parents were startled and upset. Me, marrying an American commoner. It was unheard of. I cried to them, shouting that I was sick and tired of their petty rules and regulations. After that long argument, I ran away with what little money I could gather (saving is important), said good-bye to my sister (14 at the time and crying her eyes out), and left. I was born rich, but I left nearly penniless, but I didn't care. Anything was better then staying with my parents.

I got word from a close ally that three small islands in Australia were being auctioned off. I went in and took the dive to win it. With the money I had, I soon gained the lease for the three islands and made our way there. With my remaining money, I rebuilt an old castle that the previous owner lived in. It must've been around for some time, the entire place was dilapidated and dusty. No care was given to this ancient figure. I rebuilt it with hired help, than named it Castle Cortex. It sat atop a giant hill. I then also helped govern a small town into a giant city just below: Citadel City for the island lacked any means of technology.

It became the home to many of these anthros who took notice of my reign over the island and settled there. I lost one family, but I gained another when I married Candy.

Some of the inhabits of the island, humans and anthros, liked my ruling over them, others did not. I've gotten many protestors as a result, but the people who have enjoyed my stay thanked me for giving them better health and technology. I tried to be a benevolent ruler, although I didn't realize I was going to be "Emperor" to three small islands at first.

Over time, I hired colleagues Dr. Nate Gin and Dr. Nitrous Brio as my colleagues and partners (as well best friends) on my experiments. I trusted them with all my heart. And as the years passed, my Candy gave birth to our son, Akio Ichigoya. I didn't want to repeat the same mistake my father made, so I treated him right. My son, Akio loved animals, and generally got along with the anthros, although some he didn't (mostly the big ones with fangs and giant claws). But it was Akio who would be the one who changed my life, for better…and for worse…

**A life taken, A life Given  
**Now, my son was born rather skinny and pale and he remained skinny and pale throughout his short life. We could feed him nothing but McDonald's and he'd still remain a stick figure. Not only did I do regular check ups on the poor boy, but we took him the best doctors money could afford. Nothing. He was cold, he was pale, but the doctors didn't seem to know what was wrong with him. It was as if a ghost had inhabited his body. Our concern grew deeper.

Akio, however, paid no attention at all to the fact that he was sick. He just smiled gently and stared at Candy and I, asking us to play with him, to watch cartoons with him. I wasn't sure if he knew he was sick, but I had a small hankering he did. Akio seem to accept the fact that he might die, yet he still smiles, despite his ghost-like appearance. His black hair is starting to become more stringy and hard, his eyes holding bags underneath, his energy level dropped below, yet he still retain his little obsession over animals…  
**  
**During my work on the Evolve-O-Ray, Akio came with a small dying animal.

A bandicoot…

"_Will he die?"_ was the first thing he asked me. Apparently, Akio saw a dingo trying to eat a family of bandicoots. The mother and most of her babies died, but Akio saw one defenseless baby barely trying to protect itself. The dingo had it in mid bite until Akio chased the dog away with a large stick. The bite mark was clearly showing on the bandicoot.

"_I don't know if he'll make it, son." _I told him. The look on Akio, however, got me to wrap up the little creature and place him in a shoe box with warm blankets. I sighed and told my son to just wait it out.

"_If he survives the night, he'll be okay." _I told him. I wasn't too sure myself, I'm not a veterinarian. The baby bandicoot did survive, but he was still suffering. Akio reluctantly went to school.

……………

As the baby bandicoot held on for dear life on each passing day (I had him placed on a tiny respirator), Akio would come up to him everyday, begging for him to survive.  
"I might not live, but I want you to."  
I shook my head in sadness. He knew.  
And I confirmed that when he slowly died in bed with a soft smile on both Candy and I.  
"I'm going to dream about happy things…our entire family together next to the gates to the AfterLife. You'll be there, mommy, next to Grandpa and Grandma (I never told him how much hate I had for my parents and merely told them their names and a picture), Aunt Hanako, you, Daddy, and the little bandicoot. I named him…Hiroki."  
"That's a wonderful name for a bandicoot." I soothed him.  
"I dream…we'll all…be there. I'll be there…"  
His last words meant little at that time, but it seems more meaning to me now…

………………

We buried him near the castle. My grief was spent on the Evolve-O-Ray. It was the only way I could keep myself from crying. I never cried after the funeral. It's as if I did drop a hint of tear, my father would immediately come forth with a baseball bat, beating me, telling me to stop crying. As months passed, eventually my wife left me as I ignored her and concentrated only on the machine. I lost another family. I regretted it, but my grief wouldn't let me stop from building this machine. It turned into a terrible obsession. Eventually, I was done with it, now knowing how much this wretched device would cause so much pain and suffering. But what would my first experiment be?

I was alone at night when I was thinking this. Rain and thunder made the only sounds in an otherwise quiet environment. My colleagues were asleep at this point. I then heard a sound. It was the struggling gasp for life. The little bandicoot was making it. It was so close to dying, yet it managed to clung onto life for months, I was impressed. It wanted to live again, it listened to Akio's words…by golly…it shall live.

I thought all that as I placed the little one into the machine. Dictations from the machine its bandicoot blood and some slight dingo blood from its battle with the dingo. A hybrid. A pureblood would be hard enough on this machine, but a hybrid…now that was a challenge. I then got to thinking. My son, Akio…I've missed him so. I was desperate for a family member. Someone to love. I took out a small amount of my own blood and placed them in the blood container. Then using the machinery, I made a desperate gamble, hoping it'd work.

The machine made its noise and overtime, something manages to pop out in the glass tube filled with liquid to help the creature grow. It was a tiny embryo. Success! I created life! I leaped up and down to celebrate! This was it. In about 9 month's time, the tiny being will grow to be a walking...talking baby bandicoot…with some small dingo blood in the mix (so he might develop quite large teeth). But most importantly, he had my blood. I created more then just a small creature…I created my son.  
**To Be Continued…**

……………………

**Changes:**  
-Changed Cortex from building Castle Cortex and Citadel City to him improving it where the previous owner didn't.  
-More info pertaining to Akio and possible foreshadowing when Akio spoke on his death bed. What exactly? I ain't saying. Heh Heh.  
-Bit more scenes with Hanako.  
-Changed so Akio named the small bandicoot "Hiroki".  
-Added a _"To Be Continued."_


	2. Birth

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 2:  
Birth**

**Year X, Day X  
**I didn't sleep a wink. All I did was stare at the marvelous creature there before me. A tiny embryo in a liquid filled glass tube. The same liquid found in the womb of the mother. It wasn't so hard to make, some chemicals here and there could do the trick. There was even a make shift umbilical cord attach to the machine where it would feed the little one until it was safe for it to come out. For it, it was hard to distinguish at that point, I thought, but I dialed the machine so it'll have more chance to be a boy. 75 at least. It needs a full set of XY chromosomes for him to be one. If things go wrong, he'd be a she or even a mixed gender. Well, whatever the gender was, I was proud the machine actually worked. During this point, dawn had broken out and my colleagues have awoken.

"Neo, you're up already?" N. Gin spoke, rubbing his right eye.

"NEO! What did you do?" Brio cried out, immediately snapping to and staring at the giant tube. I smiled weakly and answered in a whispered tone, "I created life."

My two friends came and saw the tiny embryo growing in there and muttered a gasp or two.

"The machine worked?" N. Gin cried out. I nodded and the two cheered.

"What is it?" Brio asked, "A kangaroo? A wallaby? Koala!"

"A bandicoot!" I smiled proudly as I answered.

"A bandicoot?" The two seemed rather disappointed. I guess they were expecting a better known animal.

"It has some dingo blood, so he might develop some large teeth." I spoke, "But he's a bandicoot."

"A "he?" Gin came, "Are you sure?"

"If all works well, then yes." I smiled, pressing my face to the screen. It was at that moment where I explained to them that I gave the small creature some of my blood and as a result, he was more or less, my son. The two were shocked because this creature was made on the image of my late son. I admit it was, but I refuse to say anything on that matter. Out of respect, my cohorts didn't either and instead, helped me to keep an eye on the growing embryo and research it further. I merely pointed out it was still all for experiments, although secretly in my head, it was far from the truth.

"You look like crap." Gin pointed. I stared at a mirror and saw my face could scare the undead. Messy hair sticking out in all places, massive blue/violet bags underneath my eyes, yellow skin turning a pale white color, and eyes bloodshot. My clothes looked as though I slept on it…twice, and I was pretty sure I smelled something nasty, but I didn't care. I succeeded.

**Year X, Day X  
**I decided to keep the dates unknown for the time being. Perhaps until the embryo form into a baby. The 9 months were going to be grueling. My fellow cohorts joked about how they wouldn't have to deal with a pregnant woman. It was a pathetic joke at best. The embryo would go through three trimesters similar if it were inside of a woman's womb. I kept papers and a clipboard handle, keeping an eye on its growth.

**Year X, Day X  
**Placenta is now starting to grow around the baby as it grows along with it. Blood vessels are showing evident signs. Over the months, the fetus will undergo gastrulation where three layers would form around it: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. During these stages will the real changes be. Each of the three layers will form what we see in the final product, lungs, hearts, teeth, eyes, pituary glands, nose, mouth, tongue, digestive system, etc. My cohorts loved to joke about the growing of my son. Hmph! They've never been married, what do they know of proper child care?

**Year X, Day X  
**Months passed and the baby was looking more like an anthro. The fur was a fresh orange color and he's shown with pointy ears with black inners. I could barely make out the eyebrows which was also black. Already he had a trait from me. I grew excited.

**Year X, Day X  
**After a near 40 weeks of observation, it was time for the baby to exit it's sleep in the glass tube and enter the real world. We had to literally open the top of the glass tube he was in and fish him out. Unscrewing the top was no problem; it was the reluctance from my cohorts who refuse to help me fish him out.

"Oh, you've dissected small pigs and touched slime from your chemistry, fishing a baby out of liquid seen in a mother's womb is NO different!" I cried, "Now hurry before he suffocates in the liquid!"

It took about a grand 15 minutes or so to slip the baby out. I immediately knew I officially had a son when I heard him cry. While N. Gin and Brio rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands (among others…I wondered if I had more then just one baby in this castle), I held the infant in my arms. I was a father again.

**Year 198X, Day 1  
**With the baby out, I suppose I should make official dates. I decided to keep the year unknown for the time being, just for safety's sake.

Hours afterwards the baby was pulled out (meaning Gin and Brio were done hogging the nearest bathroom); my cohorts helped me take the baby for checking. We needed to see if he was healthy (he was), and check his blood and DNA (which showed the same match as I). It was official; I had a healthy, bouncing baby boy. Difference stem from the fact that he was completely furry.

"Hey, Neo, he has your eyes." Gin pointed out. Small green eyes, matched well with his fur.

"I gu-gu-gu-guess we name him." Brio had a stuttering problem which was a bit annoying, but what can I do? I've tried to help him scientifically, but Brio provided his voice be left alone.

"Don't stand there, get me some blanket or something warm." I commanded.

"Where?" Gin cried, "I'm still trying to get use to this huge place!" I sighed and immediately had a grand idea. I took off my lab coat and wrapped him around with it. Ahh, it was Akio all over again.

An hour of plain staring at the little miracle, we finally moved out asses and took him to Akio's old baby room. There, he managed to fit into my old son's baby clothes and we gently placed him in the crib where he immediately fell asleep. The three of us stared for a long time.

"T-t-t-t-the machined worked!" Brio cried, "We'll be m-m-m-m-m-illionaires!"

"I'm already rich." I scoffed, spreading my arms to indicate that I owned this castle and the three islands, "Right now, I don't care for selling the Evolve-O-Ray, besides, it still needs more testing. This is the product of the machine, we need to test it and make sure he is successful." God Lord, I was lying through my teeth to my friends.

"Successful? He's right here!" Gin cried.

"No, we have research him further. See if he interacts like an anthro, his growth, etc." I smiled, "We have lots to do before we even consider using this machine any further." The two showed signs of disappointment. In my head, I was merely stalling.

"You do realize we'll be up all night feeding and changing this guy, right?" Gin spoke.

"I know, I'm used to it." I adjusted the blanket.

"What do we n-n-n-n-name him?" Brio asked.

"Are you going to name him Akio after your son?" Gin asked.

I would have done that, but I do not want to replace Akio. Not to mention I didn't need the pain of my first son's death to get over me. I would need full attention on the little one. A different name would be in order. I stared at the white ceiling, then at the wallpaper walls, covered in light blue filled with dancing teddy bears. I smiled softly, then looked down at the small infant.

"Hiroki…he's name is Hiroki." I spoke, "Not Akio. My Hiroki."  
**To Be Continued…**

**……………………**

**Changes:  
**-Some description of Cortex after he created Crash  
-Cortex's thought on denial of the real reason he made his son, and lying to his friends.


	3. Baby

**Experiment Bandicoot**  
**Chapter 3:**  
**Baby**

**Year 198X, Day 7  
**For about a week, Hiroki has generally been quiet, although as of right now, the little one keeps crying. It also didn't help that my cohorts were whining on their own, complaining on Hiroki's cries. Naturally, I seem to be the only one who could keep the child at bay. In fact, I was the only one doing the fatherly care while my colleagues made it their business to record everything the baby did. Thusly, the research mainly composes of them writing, "Hiroki is crying" or "Hiroki just pooped" or "Hiroki does more baby stuff". Those two need girlfriends.

I made it my business to teach Gin and Brio on the proper way to take care of a baby. They were reluctant, but I told them as long as they were living in my castle, they'd help me out. I may have the more experience, but taking care of a baby alone is an exceptionally hard task. Gin complains, Brio whimpers. Those two need girlfriends.

They also took to video taping various shots of Crash, although their commentaries I told them to do weren't very engaging. Gin's voice droned on and on, "Okay, now Hiroki is just sitting there…staring at me…and staring…and staring." Or "He's napping…doing nothing…nothing…nothing." Brio's was barely understandably, what with the stammering. Those two need girlfriends.

**Year 198X, Day 15  
**N. Gin and Brio are getting used to the baby more, whining less. Brio at least managed to change the diapers while Gin is having some reluctance. I swear, this feels more like a research on those two then Hiroki. Speaking of Hiroki, the boy is getting more bouncier and healthier everyday. He drinks milk like any of his species does and from a bottle, too. He eats baby food, so we didn't have to worry about what special bandicoot food the child needed, although we still have to make sure of his eating habits as he got older, if he'd eat the foods we'd eat or the foods bandicoot normally eat.

Whenever the baby is sleeping, I usually took the time to nap myself. I needed to save as much as energy as I could possibly muster. I've lost a lot of sleep during the night trying to put Hiroki to sleep. I think I'm starting to loose hair. I believe Gin and Brio told me numerous times that they wanted to quit, but never actually left the house. I swear if I hadn't had a child a while back, the three of us would be sitting ducks.

**Year 198X, Day 30  
**Success. Both Gin and Brio can now successfully diaper Hiroki with little to no problem. Such a progress in less than 2 months. We took turns watching over the child, but I was naturally given the most hours due to him being my son and that I wanted him to attach to me and be familiarized with me first. He can open his eyes fully by now, but it'll be another few months before he could walk and run, let along talk or even move around freely.

If there's one thing I feared the most is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. Babies falling asleep in their cribs only for the parents to find out that their dead for unexplainable reasons. Even I, a scientist, couldn't be able to figure it out, no matter how many autopsies I could do. It's a feeling that I felt since Akio and the same whenever I see Hiroki sleep in his crib. That was another reason for the countless amount of sleep. Perhaps I'm being paranoid, but when you're a father, whether you lost one child or not, these type of concern govern your head at all times. I ask myself often why I put myself through so much stress. I'm not even 30 yet, not even close to it.

**Year 198X, Day 44  
**My colleagues thought I was spending too much time with the baby and not enough time for myself. Naturally, I thought those two were crazy to say that, but they manage to shove me out of the castle so I can have some fresh air and have some "me" time while the two tended to the baby (whom they were now used to). I was exceptionally worried. Leaving Gin and Brio with my son, what kind of crazy lunatic would do that? They both insisted and shoved me out the door and I mean that in the literal term.

Every step further from the castle, I had the temptation to run back and hold my precious being, but I knew even I needed a break. I barely could get any sleep and I seem to be loosing more of my hair. I tried to be less stressful because if there's ONE thing I never want to happen, I never want to loose my hair and become bald.

Upon seeing Citadel City while walking, I notice how content it is. Sure, as a city, its suppose to be loud and packed with people and anthros in this case, but I felt so peaceful. Perhaps because this was my city, the place I governed and rule (although I do have help, there's a mayor system in here). I felt like I was the world's greatest Emperor. Even people would come up to me and wave, "Hello" or "Hiya doing, Mr. Cortex" or "Hey, I heard you had another son. Good luck on that". I felt it as my duty right now to ensure that Citadel City live for as long as it can muster.

**Year 198X, Day 75  
**It's almost Christmas. My child's very first Christmas. Christmas isn't so widely celebrated from my hometown of Japan as it is in America, so I didn't understand the customs so well. Naturally, Brio, who came from America told me the meaning of Christmas or as much as he can (I wasn't totally deprived of my lack of knowledge of Christmas). Giant Christmas trees, wreaths, and lights that seem to cover every single part of the castle, the entire castle was fit to win any Christmas decoration contest. I was kind of reluctant to let Gin place the robot Santa and his reindeers and elves up the many roofs of Castle Cortex (he seem to have this horrible obsession with electricity), but in the end, everything turned out beautifully.

I think we had a wonderful Christmas celebration. My son certainly enjoyed the multiple lights that constantly blinked around the house and he absolutely marveled at the Christmas Tree and the star on top. Me? Well, the lights gave me a headache, so Gin promised to reduce the amount later in the future.

**Year 198X, Day 107  
**"Neo! LOOK!"

I turned around and by my amazement; I saw something I never expected.

Hiroki was standing up. As if that wasn't a great accomplishment enough, the little boy started to walk. Small steps and clumsy, yes, but he was walking.

"Oh, my gosh!" I gasped, then I lowered down, "Come on, Hiroki! Come to daddy!" I thought he'd come to me, but he merely passed by me. His main reason for walking was the shiny red bouncing ball Akio once owned. Apparently, he threw it far, and then managed to walk up and get it back.

"He finally walked!" Brio gasped. Gin and Brio both took out their clipboards and scribbled it all down. I went over to Hiroki and gently picked him up. He merely cooed as he happily enjoyed my company.

"Oh, my son! You walked! You WALKED!" I raised him up and down, "I'm SO proud of you!" I almost forgot to actually update my research until a couple of hours ago. I was too self absorbed with Hiroki.

**Year 198X, Day 245-250  
**Between Hiroki's first steps to now, the child has develop the curiosity to explore every single part of the castle. Because this was a big castle, we had to be extra careful. Little pieces could not be on the floor, and we had to make sure to keep an extra eye out for him. The castle was a huge place and unfortunately for us, Hiroki could climb stairs. He still had plenty of walking experience to do, but he was the master of crawling. He also seem to like to sleep on the soft things, mainly on top of towels just recently been dried from the laundry. You wouldn't believe how adorable that was; I just had to take a picture.

Despite more added stress with him now able to walk and crawl with ease (adding to the fact that his small built has earned him the title of best hider ever), everything felt all calm and less stressful when he started to mouth out words. Naturally, gibberish was the first things he said since he could speak, but sometime during this entry, I nearly dropped my bowl in which I was making pudding while my son was on his high chair banging on the table where he eats with a spoon, all because he said, "Daddy".

I turned around and eyed Hiroki who just smiled innocently, unaware of what he just said. I immediately grabbed him and asked, "What did you just say?"

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! DADDY!" He kept repeating that and I nearly dropped down in tears.

"GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS!" Immediately, my two friends came running in.

"HE TALKED! HE TALKED!" Both of them calmly just said, "What?"

"HE...TALKED!" I cried excitably.

"HE DID?" The two cried, finally understanding what the excitable was, "WHAT DID HE SAY!"  
"He said, "Daddy!" Of course!" I cried, "It's what babies say most of the time as their first word."

"I thought that was "mommy." Gin shrugged.

"...Shut up." I merely took Hiroki and cuddled him, "Can you say, "Daddy" again?"

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Oh, I could just cry in happiness!"

Further research shows that not only can he walk, but he can now talk…

**Year 1, Day 1  
**One year has passed. My Hiroki was now fully one year old. We had a big birthday bash for him, even though it was only him and three short scientists who've spent nearly two years researching him. That left all traces out of my head. All I did for today was concentrate on Hiroki's first age. Stuffed dolls, baby video tapes (so many Sesame Streets), new cribs, etc, quite a handful of presents from just three men.

You know, it may just be me, but it seems at times that Hiroki seems to appreciate what we were doing for him. He was happy during present time, he actually clapped with us when we were singing "Happy Birthday", and it was as if he knew what we were doing for him. He couldn't talk, but I bet he'd have thanked us if he could. I'm not so sure why I feel this way, but I feel it with him. I'm not so sure if it's because he's the son of a scientist, but I could sense more then just baby intelligence in him.

"Geez, this is just like Akio's party." Gin sighed, "Should we add this to our research, I wonder?"

"Wonderful ind-d-d-eed!" Brio smiled.

As I held Hiroki, I suddenly had a realization. I completely forgot about. Am I being so attach to Hiroki to care about my other son? No, I tried to deny it all. But for that brief moment, I forgot about my first son and Gin and Brio forgot he was our experiment. Was that a good thing or a bad thing?**…………………  
To Be Continued…**

**…………………**

**Changes:**  
-Some scenes in the beginning with Gin/Brio.  
-More words switched so Cortex views him as a son, not a son and experiment.


	4. Toddler

**Experiment Bandicoot**  
**Chapter 4:**  
**Toddler**

**Year 2, Day 14  
**The full year of his first age passed by a lot quicker then I thought. He no longer crawled and gurgled. He was walking and running, smiling and giggling more often. He could understand basic English language (as well as some Japanese, after all, he's got Japanese blood in him). More importantly, he does a great job of eating the foods all three of us manage to make for him. Human foods seem to be absolutely no problem for him. We kept an eye on his digestive system to be sure and to see which food he was allergic to or not, but so far, all the cut up vegetables, milk, and candy had little affect on him other them him eating it and begging for more. Gin and Brio has gotten quite use to tying a bib around him and feeding him his main food." I guess you guys can be Hiroki's Godfathers." I proclaimed at one point. Gin and Brio thought it was fine, but they thought I was getting too attached to the boy.

"I am not!" I snorted back, Of course I was denying it…

**Year 2, Day 34  
**Bath times were some of my most favorite moments with Hiroki. Him splashing the water with his hands, the bubbles on his head, the little rubber ducky that he enjoys chewing on (only for me to have to take it out of his mouth and then him sneaking up while I wasn't looking and chewing it again), and him generally squealing every time I get near him in utter happiness. I swear, many people complain how kids are terrible, but I think it's one of the greatest thing to have ever graced my life. The sheer joy of having one smiling and laughing at you was worth having one alone.

I was in my paranoid mode as usual during bath times; refusing to pick up the phone or leave the room lest I feel the child might drown. I've always had that fear, so until Hiroki can wash himself, you can forget about me ever leaving the bathroom. Hell, whenever the phone rang, the conversations were always, "GIN! BRIO! ONE OF YOU, GET THE DAMN PHONE!"  
"Cortex, the kid's not gonna drown! It's 3 inches of water!"  
"I don't care! Answer the phone or I'll…umm…cut off your payment!"  
"You don't even pay me!"  
"JUST ANSWER IT"  
This was a normal conversation, although I tried to stop shouting so much. I didn't want Hiroki to learn such behaviors.

**Year 2, Day 57  
**"I can say my "ABC." Hiroki seem to enjoy the gift of talking. We studied that one extra hard. You don't see many furries in this planet. A dying species, one would say. I would have loved to research one myself if Hiroki wasn't made, but I didn't dare think anyone would actually come up and volunteered to be probed and poked. Hiroki generally kept a cool face with me and always trusted me as far as I was concerned, but his smile turned into a frown every time I had to give him a shot. We had to make sure Hiroki lasted long as an average human being. As much as I didn't wanted to, sometimes an experiment was necessary, especially since I wanted him to live like a regular being.

**Year 2, Day 200  
**We found out he's allergic to carrots. Poor child kept coughing so much and choking.

**Year 2, Day 345  
**I was worried, Hiroki didn't run around like he usually did early in the morning. He didn't watch cartoons as he usually did early in the morning. He didn't even bother my cohorts in that cute childish manner early in the morning. So of course something felt wrong. He was still in bed when I got to his room, moaning and groaning.

"Daddy." He weakly coiled. Naturally, the fact that he was weak as a kitten had me worried a great deal some, especially since he was such a lively boy. I immediately took out a thermometer.

"Something is wrong." My friends entered.

"He's not running around." Gin gasped.

"No…he's not." I muttered slowly, "That's because he's sick."

"S-S-S-Sick of what?" Brio asked.

"He seems to be running a fever." I mumbled, touching his forehead.

"Well, don't worry, just keep him warm and give him medicine and in a few days, he'll be alright." Gin shrugged, obviously seeing this was no big deal.

"…Yea." I nodded.

Truth be told, he did get better in a few days and was once more lively again, but that one time when he was sick, I felt like butterflies had entered my stomach. An average person could get over a sickness like the fever, but the fact that he looked almost dead had such an impact on me. I felt like this wouldn't be the first time Hiroki would experience this…no, not the fever, but something more. Am I being paranoid as I write this? Why do I feel this way?

**Year 3, Day 17  
**"Stop crashing into stuff on purpose, you'll get a brain tumor!" Gin cried, "Neo, do something about your kid!"

"He's just having fun." I muttered.

"He keeps crashing into things on purpose!" Gin cried.

"Why would he do that?" I gasped, and then I turned to Hiroki, "My son, why would you do such a thing?"

"Because it's fun." He smiled.

"it's fun until someone gets hurt." I spoke.

"I have a hard head." Hiroki smiled, and then he demonstrated by hitting himself repeatedly on the coffee table leg.

"HEY!" I immediately picked him and tried to see if he manage to get a bump on his head, "Don't you EVER do such a thing like that!"

"Okay." He was disappointed, but why would he purposely hurt himself?

**Year 3, Day 22  
**Hiroki is a rambunctious boy, quite the daredevil: He'd jumped from one couch to another with a daring leap for a 3 year old, he'd steal all the pots from the kitchen and throw them around the house, trying to top his score to see how far he can chuck (usually, it hit a random vase, so we had to get him to stop), he even piled up all the toys he had, tied a rope to himself and then climbed to the, then he would leap down, bungee jumping style. Naturally to say, this was giving all three of us a tremendous amount of headaches. If I didn't knew any better, the boy would grow up to be a daredevil. Oh, have mercy on us all.

……………………

Today was a quiet day for him. He was busy playing with his blocks. I came over to see how he was doing after I finished the dishes, only to be amazed…he spelled words. Sure, they were simple words like _"cats", "dogs"_, and such and such, but he **SPELLED**. The boy didn't even knew how to read yet, but he spelt words. This couldn't be coincidence.

I immediately called in my colleagues and we busied ourselves, scribbling on our clipboard on this stunning revelation.

"Most three years old can't read or write." Gin gasped, "Your kid, however…"

"Maybe he's g-g-g-got your brain, Neo." Brio explained.

"Maybe." I softly spoke.

Whatever the case was, this was certainly a step up. We had to make sure, so we asked him to read the words.

"Cat." He pointed to the blocks that said, "cat".

"Dog." He pointed to the block that said "dog".

What a discovery. What a trooper, that Hiroki is.

**Year 3, Day 46  
**The boy had finished reading the entire picture books in his house. He had difficulties at first, but he managed to read on his own by the end. He refused any help, saying he'd do it himself. Instead, the three of us casually observed him from afar. I occasionally peeked over his shoulder to see if he was reading right and not making up words (he wasn't).

We tried to expand on other parts of education, but he wasn't interested in Math (he didn't so well), except the reading part, "What is 2 plus 2?". He read anything from social studies to science, but he couldn't understand what more then half the words were or what they mean, so we had him back to what he did best.

When he finished all the picture books, he came over to me and asked, "Can I read harder books? You know, the ones without pictures in them?"

I was shocked, yet not deeply surprised. I remember asking the same thing when I was about 3. I dug through my old books I had in the library section of my castle.

"So, what do you want to read?"

"I want to read a fun book." Hiroki implied, "Something kids can read and enjoy."

"Here, then." I handed him a book, a short, small chapter book.

"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Hiroki read the cover, "What a silly name."

"I know, but it's a fun book and the movie's not half bad."

"Thank you, daddy."

I watched him as he would read every 3 hours each day, his eyes gazed onto the book. He finished it in about 3 day's time. He seemed to back flip a lot and I asked him why. He answered, "Some parts were more fun to read then others, so I wanted to read it again."

When he was done, he demanded more books, so I took out all the chapter books kids read and he started to read them all.

**Year 3, Day 123  
**He became a lot less daring once he started to get more obsessed with books. That did bring us to a lesser stressing point, but he was still rambunctious. His energy wouldn't be disappearing anytime soon. These are some of the books he read:

_Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_

_The Secret Garden_

_James and the Giant Peach_

_Island of the Blue Dolphins_

_Grimm's Fairy Tales_

And so on and on.

**Year 3, 231  
**I found myself buying more books for him. Hiroki enjoyed reading as much as he loved crashing into things and coming off unscathed. That last part had me thinking. The boy seemed to be immune physically from harm. I had him double checked and found his skull to be rather thick. He surpassed quite a level of intelligence despite the thick skull. He easily healed from cuts and bruises faster then an average being, let along average human being. He could purposely cut himself and his wound would heal in a matter of days. Usually, cuts take weeks to mend over. This was truly mind blowing. He didn't even feel much pain when he crashed into things, let along cry. It's like he's been given one too many painkillers. I decided to keep an extra close eye on that or maybe I'm being too paranoid?

**Year 4, Day 5  
**"I need bigger books, daddy." Hiroki had finished all the small, chapter books children normally read.

"Bigger books?" I gasped, "Where on Earth would I get a bigger book that a child could enjoy?" I dug around once again in my library and fished out a fat book.

"Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens." Hiroki read. The brown leather book was immensely huge, about half of Hiroki's size, and that edition was well over 400 something pages.

"Thank you, daddy." Hiroki smiled, "I'm going to go read it now."

I had doubts he's interest would hold out on that one giant book, along, but in a matter of weeks, as I observed, the boy had finished the entire book.

"It was a kind of questionable book, with a questionable ending, but still, I liked it better then the first ending the writer intended to give." Hiroki spoke, "At least with this ending currently, it's much more happier."

**Year 4, Day 55  
**_CRASH!_

Again, he crashed into another random item while he was playing _"Airplane"._

"My gosh, you crash into a lot of things, do you know that?" Gin cried, slamming his coffee cup down.

"I think it's fun, Mr. Gin." Hiroki smiled, "Why don't you try?"

"I'm not in the mood to kill my brain." Gin stated.

Hiroki merely ignored him and kept running into things again. We had to pick up the stuff for him. We were all tired of him crashing into random things, but stopping him was like trying to stop a bullet train all by yourself.

"You need a nickname." Gin groaned, "Like Smashing Machine kid."

"That's too long." Hiroki giggled.

"How about just p-p-p-p-plain Smash?" Brio came in.

"Personally, his nickname should be Crash. He doesn't smash things, he just crashes into them." I came up.

"I like Crash." Hiroki smiled.

"Then I hereby nickname dub thee ye, _"Crash."_ I smiled, lifting him up.

It was meant as a joke, but the name stuck and with the exception for myself (at times), he was refer to as "Crash".

**Changes:  
-**Added dialogue on Crash's bath scene  
-Expansion on Cortex and others trying to further educate Crash


	5. Child

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 5  
Child**

**Year 5, Day 5  
**He was just pass the age of five, just barely when we took him to school for the first time. I didn't care that I ruled over these three islands and had more money then anyone in it, my little Hiroki was NOT going to some snotty private school where he'd grow up learning money is more important then family and friends. Possessive materials my ass. I sent him to a nice, public school where he would get a decent education. I didn't care if he got straight "A's". I just told him to do the best he can. He was going to start Kindergarten.

I picked him up a few hours later. I was too short for a car and I felt quite embarrassed to have to buy those seat adjusters or get some fake leg to reach the pedals. I felt like those devices merely insulted my small height. I could have easily made a car for my own needs, but cars weren't really my forte. My vehicle of choice were motorcycles and scooters. Because I had a child, the scooter was the more safer choice. My own personalized one I made myself, sitted for two. It was a lovely shiny, red one with a yellow lightning streak in the middle. Unfortunately, it lacks a name.

Hiroki immediately spotted me and slowly walked over to my directions. His face wasn't what I expected (happy and excited), but sad and frustrated. I asked him what's wrong, but he merely said, "Nothing" and I drove him home.

**Year 5, Day 12  
**This sadness repeated for about a week. Growing worried, I decided to stay in his kindergarten class and see what's causing him to be so depressed. The Kindergarten teacher (a lavender furred kangaroo named Mrs. Kate Juniper), didn't mind at all of my presence, but I secretly thought she only said that because I owned the entire island chain. I decided to observe without interrupting, as if I was invisible.

"You're a freak. My dad said you're a freak!" one of the kids cried. A dingo with sandy colored hair (there were FAR more animals then humans in this city, let along this entire island, but plenty enough that my colleagues and I don't feel alone) named Danny.

"You don't even know what "freak" means!" Hiroki threw a raspberry.

"I know it means something bad and _you_ are bad!"

"Yea, you're a freak." Another child joined in, a little colorful bird named Precious.

"Yea, my mommy and daddy told me you came here in a different way, so you're a freak." A third child popped in, a bear child with brown hair and dotted black eyes named Corey.

"I'm NOT a freak!" Hiroki shouted, "My name is Hiroki, but everybody calls me "Crash!" I'm better then all of you! I can read better!"

"Nobody cares!" The one named Danny shouted.

Lunch ended up messy with the kid's stealing Hiroki's lunch which I made for him (rice, sushi, and orange juice). They mainly pushed him and used all sorts of physical abuse to hand them his lunch. He was left with nothing, not even a crumb. Not many Australians took kindly to sushi and rice, but they didn't beat him up for his food, that much is pretty obvious to both Hiroki and I. Recess was even worse where bigger kids who were about 9 years old beat poor Hiroki. He was fine enough to walk, but he was still sent to the nurses for the scraps he had.

I knew I should have tried to step in, but I decided to watch the entire thing, tape record it, and see what it is that they were doing to Hiroki. Believe me, I wanted to step in, I truly did. It was hard to just stand there, watching my own child get beaten to a pulp. Bruised, fur mangled, and a black eye…all in one day.

**Year 5, Day 33  
**When I reluctantly sent Hiroki back to school, I headed back home to talk with the colleagues. We sat at the kitchen table, each with a drink: I had green tea, Gin had coffee, and Brio had wine.

"Maybe I should privately tutor him." I suggested, "Sending him to that school where he'll be abused physically, mentally, and emotional isn't good for him. The same would happen if I transformed him to another school. Doesn't matter if it's private or public."

"Oh, Cortex, stop moping!" Gin cried. I was shocked. My head was down, starring at the tablecloth decorated with flowers until he spoke that sentence.

"What?" I gasped, starring hard at Gin's plump face.

"This might do good for him." Gin spoke, "For the past five or so years, you've been pampering him."

"Pampering?" I repeated.

"D-D-D-D-Day in and D-D-D-D-D-Day Out." Brio popped in, not knowing for sure if he was on my side or Gin's just yet.

"With that kind of abuse he gets in school, he could toughen up." Gin suggested, "With you always cuddling with him, you're making him weaker and weaker! You don't want that! The child will grow up completely depending on even through his adult stages."

"But I was being a father." I cried, "And to leave him like that without interfering is traumatizing!"

"You don't h-h-h-have to leave him." Brio suggested, "Just g-g-g-g-give him advices and encouragements here and t-t-t-t-t-there."

"I don't know." I shook my head.

"And bring him outside more." Gin came in, "Take him camping, see the great outdoors. He can't stay in the castle forever."

"But I'm scared." I confessed.

"Your son will be scared even worse of the outside world if you keep him cooped up!" Gin slammed his fist down which rattled our cups, "You're scared because you'll lose Crash like you did with your previous son." I nodded slowly in agreement. Don't you hate it when someone corrects you? Don't you hate the harsh truth, making you feel ungodly uncomfortable?

"Oh, C-C-C-C-Cortex, you must move on." Brio sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder, "I have to agree with Gin. This is g-g-g-g-g-good for Crash."

"………….Alright." I softly, almost in a whisper, muttered, "I'll try it your way."

So Hiroki continued going to that school and every time he felt discouraged, I just gave him fatherly advices.

"Ignore them, hang your head up high, keep a stiff upper lip. You're better then people like those!" I would say those things to him, but I didn't think he fully understood some of it. Even if he could read books like an expert, he was still only five and barely knows anything of the true reality of the world. A children's mind is simply black and white. If they see someone is evil in cartoons, they automatically think that. They don't see the story behind them of how they came to be and how they see their intentions are not evil in their eyes. It's an example I was stating. He was five, so he automatically thought everyone hated him when there was a much deeper reason for all this. For the way he was being treated. If I told him now of the reasons, he wouldn't understand.

**Year 5, Day 78  
**Hiroki, except for books, was doing pretty average in his school. When it came to books, he was a reading expert, but the rest he was only average in. The teacher, Mrs. Juniper said it's possibly because of his endless energy, which comes to no surprise. It's as if he had sugar in him and not blood, the boy had energy to spare. Because he was so excitable, he had a short attention span. I decided to find some way to get him to calm down. Until then, I decided to take Gin's suggestion to take him outside in the wild and see how he'd like it there. To use his energy in a good way. I'm going to stop typing this so I can go pack my camping gears.

**Year 5, Day 82  
**We spent only a few days in the jungle, not too far from the city. I have gotten to the point where I could trust Gin and Brio to watch over the castle while I was away for a short time. I never left the castle for more then a week at least. I didn't completely rely on them THAT much.

I've camped a few times before, so I was experienced enough, but I kept a survival guide just incase. Hiroki was an insanely curious child and he moved around constantly, picking up random flowers, mushrooms, branches, and even animals. He would examine them and show them to me. I grew used to him wandering around the house, but the jungle was a new experience for Hiroki, so I had to keep a close eye on him. I let him wander, knowing he needed the free air like my cohorts have said, but I made sure he touched things that weren't dangerous or poisonous. If anything he got near was under those two categories, I immediately pulled him back. One time he cried because he saw a colorful blue and green frog he badly wanted to touch.

"It's poisonous!" I harshly spoke, "If you touch that frog, you could get very sick and die!"

"But why would animals do that?" He asked after he manage to calm down from crying, "I thought he was an animal like me."

"That animal is different then you." I spoke.

"I know that. I'm all furry and he's all slimy." Hiroki spoke, "But we're both animals."

"Hiroki, this animal cannot talk like a human or walk on two legs the way humans do." I started, "You can talk like a human and walk like a human."

"How come I can do that and the kids in my school can do that and even my teacher, but not these guys?" Hiroki pointed to the blue and green frog who hopped away into a small, nearby pond.

"That's how the world works." I said, "There aren't many beings such as you people. You are not humans, you are called an "anthro" or "furry" and you are different from those animals who do not look or speak like a human."

"But I thought animals like me and animals like that frog can understand each other." Hiroki pointed to the pond.

"Hiroki…remember Mrs. Patterson's dog, FiFi?" Mrs. Patterson was a skinny, heavily in make up, cat anthro with sleek platinum hair that I'm sure she dyed (no way in hell a woman her age can have hair color like that by natural means).

"Yea." He nodded.

"Well, remember when FiFi kept barking at everyone, including Mrs. Patterson herself?" Hiroki nodded

"Well, it's like the frog." I spoke, "Animals like FiFi and that frog doesn't always become friends with animals like you. Animals of the same species don't even get along. You've seen me fight with your Godfathers, N. Gin and N. Brio before."

Hiroki nodded and left to go explore more. He started to hang on to some of the lower branches. I didn't think he'd understood everything as I said. He's a child, I wouldn't put it past him if he forgot all about it by tomorrow and did his usual business of playing with his toys and watching TV.

**Year5, Day 158  
**Hiroki spends more time outside now. We camp every so often and I would show him more of the Citadel City. Sometimes, the entire resident of the castle (all four of us) vacation to other parts of the world. We went to Europe just last week as well as China and America. We plan to go to Africa next year. Hiroki wanted to go Egypt terribly.

"I wanna see the mummies!" He stated.

The only place I refuse to go was Japan. I just…couldn't face it. Knowing my parents were still there…alive and probably berating me. For them to see me in success would further frustrate them and result in more harsh insults. Carrying around a small anthro wouldn't exactly help either. But when I thought of Japan, I immediately remembered my sister, Hanako. I realize I kept no contact over her after I departed the Ichigoya mansion where I once lived. She should be about 26 right now. I should give her a call, but I was afraid she'd speak with my parents about me. That was the one thing from preventing me to call her, let alone write her a letter. I desperately wanted to know how she was doing, however. I wondered if she was constantly thinking about me? What terrible temptation.

**Year5, Day 233  
**Hiroki had his daily check up from me. He still hated getting shots, but I told him it was for his own good. Hiroki asked why he had to do this and I merely told him, "So you can be nice and healthy." I didn't have the heart to tell him it's mainly because of what he truly is…

**Year5, Day 301  
**"I think it's time we made more animals." Gin replied, "More creations."

"What?" I gasped.

"Crash is a total success." Gin continued, "We should make more and use different animals, see how they react differently."

Normally, I would have agreed, but something prevented me from taking Gin's side.

"I don't think we're ready yet." I softly muttered, "Hiroki is only five, he still has many experimental stages to go."

"For goodness sake, Cortex!" Gin gasped, "What's the deal? You're a scientist. We're all scientist. Our duty is to literally play God."

"I don't want any other animals!" I shouted. Realizing what I just said, I quickly continued that sentence, "…Yet, anyways."

"Oh, I get it. Don't want anyone to upstage your "precious" son, eh?" Gin crossed his arms.

"That's not true!" I snapped, "I just think it's still too early. The boy is five. Give me a few more years!"

"This machine is gathering dust, Cortex!" Gin sighed, "Sooner or later, it'll be so clogged up we won't be able to use it!"

"I can make a new one! All of my ideas are in here (I pointed to my head), not in blueprints and that machine!"

"G-G-G-Guys!" Brio stepped in, "Please calm down! Let us not f-f-f-f-f-fight!"

"Yes, let's not. This discussion is over." I nodded.

"No, it's not!" Gin screamed, "Damn it, Cortex! You're a scientist! You're forgetting that Crash is an experiment, not your son!"

"HE IS MY SON!" I screamed, getting close to Gin. I honestly didn't know what came over me, "HE HAS MY BLOOD! HE IS MY CHILD! THE ONE I LOVE!"

"Crash is merely just a replacement for the son you LOST!" Gin screamed, "Because you're too stupid to move on, you had to create someone you could love!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I cried, my face was red and I had tears coming down my eyes, "DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT HIROKI THAT WAY!"

"You're WEAK, Cortex! WEAK!" Gin shrieked. He pushed me to my limits and without a lick of common sense, I pouched on him. We fought. We fought all over the lab room, knocking down chemicals and year's work of reports. Computers and beakers were shattered and broken into a thousand pieces. I slammed Gin to a machine he made a while back. It deployed missiles faster then an average missile launcher. A design the army could easily use. Little did we know we accidentally activated it, causing a stray missile to go off.

We didn't notice it at first, not until we hear Brio's scream. We both stopped fighting (but not letting go off each other) to see a missile flying in random around the lab room. It finally decided on a decision…it was aiming for us. We had little time to think, so I quickly dived out of the way, hoping Gin would do the same, but he didn't quite make it. Stunned and scared, Gin merely pulled a metal hiding we knocked down during our quarrel and shielded his head...

Everything was gray with smoke, so when I opened my eye, all I could make out was shadowy figures. The worse came when I saw Gin, lying still with the metal over half his face…and the missile sticking out like a gray pimple. Both Brio and I were insanely horrified. He was starting to bleed once the clouds faded out. I motioned for Brio to get something to hold the dark blood (although I had a difficult time getting words out of my mouth) and he came back with towels. After I tied it around his head, we quickly took him to the medical room. We had to do something…

**Year 5, Day 315  
**It was grueling, but we manage to save N. Gin. We had to slightly turn him into an cyborg. Slightly as in half his face was completely metal which surrounded the missile which it's pointed end was halfway jammed in Gin's brain. The rest of his body was normal. Brio and I had to work out the kinks to balance out metal and flesh and after a grueling two weeks or so, we think we got it. Gin woke up fine. He looked the same, but with half a metal face and a robotic voice.

"What…happen?" Gin mumbled, "My voice! My voice sounds so…artificial!" When we gave him a mirror, he nearly fainted from the screaming he did (without even taking a breath in between). When we calmed him down, we explained the whole thing and afterwards, he cried.

"This happen because we had a stupid argument." Gin muttered, "I deserved this!"

"No, I pounced on you." I came in, "I should have held my temper."

We spend a while apologizing to each other. In the end, Gin said he accepted who he was now and that was that (plus, as the world's first cyborg as far as we were all concerned, he felt like a breakthrough in science).

"B-B-B-B-B-Believe me, we thought you wouldn't make it." Brio sighed, "None of us have experimented on the p-p-p-p-p-process of melding metal with flesh."

With all this excitement, I haven't given Hiroki that much attention, so I spent some extra time with him afterwards. He was naturally shocked at Gin's new look, but he looked passed it and touched his metal face.

"Uncle…" He smiled (he called both Gin and Brio "Uncle" despite them being their legal Godfathers).

**Year 6, Day 122  
**The idea for creating more animals never left my head after N. Gin mentioned it. That didn't mean I wanted to make more, I just felt like one was enough. I wasn't kidding when I saw Hiroki needed more experiments, but I did feel like he would be upstaged. Maybe even create a sibling rivalry. I was still afraid for Hiroki. My former son barely left my head nowadays, but at the same time, I seem to be loosing my touch with him. I keep forgetting his name. What a terrible father I am…

**Year 6, Day 200  
**"It's been a while."

"Yes, it has."

Imagine my surprise when Candy was standing on the front porch, hands together and with a serious, yet gentle smile. It was quite late at night. I was reading near the fireplace in the library when I heard the doorbell. Once I saw her, my mind filled with memories of her.

She was the same as before, but she felt much more older. Well, obviously she was older, but she didn't look like that girl I married so many years ago. Back then, she had supermodel appearance: what with her wavy blonde hair and bright, blue eyes, as well as legs that could reach the sky. Candy back then enjoyed wearing short pants and tight T-shirts. Her hair was always stylish and shiny. Her physical appearance had the ability to make men stop whatever it is they were doing just so she can be looked upon as the gorgeous babe she is. Everything was in slow motion as she slowly strutted pass wherever she'd be, waving her hair and winking to those men examining her like vultures to a carcass. Baywatch girls had nothing on her. Now, she donned a lavender dress that reached just above her feet and a blue blouse. Her hair was now tied up in a bond with some loose hair coming out. Her eyes felt more mellow and calm then bright and cute. She looked much like a mother. Either way, she still had that beauty.

I invited her in after I got over the shock of her appearance. We had tea (she had coffee, actually) and then, we chatted. She told me what she was doing lately (She's in America as a struggling actress) and I told her what I was doing…the same job since she has left.

"I thought so." She said. I nodded, then changed the subject to an issue she had to know about.

"I have a son."

"What" Candy removed the coffee cup from her lips, "A son? Another?" I nodded.

"Do you want to see him?"

Candy thought for as brief moment and nodded. I took her to his room where he was sleeping.

"I must warn you…he's very different." I showed her the sleeping Hiroki. He had a stuffed doll of an elf-ish creature. It had straight blonde hair and dotted blue eyes. He named the little thing "Jack"…without the "C". He got it when he was younger and naturally assumed that was how "Jack" was spelled. As he grew older, he eventually learned the proper spelling, but he kept the doll's name he gave years ago; "Jack" without a "C".

"Did you…adopt him?" Candy asked.

"No." I shook my head, "I made him."

"What?" She whispered.

"I made him." I repeated, "Remember that machine I made? I made him from a small, injured, near dead bandicoot. He has my blood. He's my son." I smiled softly at Hiroki and flicked back the orange fur blocking parts of his eye. I then turned around to see Candy who had on a shocked, concern expression.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

**Year 6, Day 203  
**She actually stayed for about two days right now. She spend all her time playing with Hiroki like she did with Akio. Hiroki took an immediately liking to her. In truth, it reduce the amount of stress I had; what with taking care of him, experimenting, as well as governing an entire set of islands. Candy had the motherly spirit and she would take out Hiroki in the city. He's been outside more times then I did with him. At times, I do feel a surge of jealously as Candy seem to pay all her attention to Hiroki and vice versa. The two barely ever talked with me, but I was happy to see them get together. The only question I had was why was she here? It couldn't be "just for a visit to see how you are". I had to ask her.

**Year 6, Day 204  
**I asked her why she was truly here, but she merely said "Just to see how you are doing". I didn't buy that and I kept pestering her. When she refuse to answer, I gave up for the day and just watched her play with Hiroki.

**Year 6, Day 220  
**I asked her the same question occasionally and she still refuses to answer. Instead of asking today, I decided to continue my progress with Hiroki. I seem to be experimenting on him less and less. Those shots I usually give him were now mainly of shots every normal child gets to prevent childhood diseases. Candy caught me writing on my clipboard and asked me what I did. I said it was nothing, but she took my clipboard and observed what I had written. She was shocked, saying I treated him like a science experiment then a son. I said I was just keeping a close eye on him and observing him, is all. Candy argued back and we had a nasty fight. She stormed off. I read what I wrote, then remembered N. Gin saying I treated him more like a son then an experiment. So…who's right; Gin or Candy?

**Year 6, Day 234  
**When I look back at the progress reports I've written, I've noticed it felt more like a journal then notes and research. I keep forgetting to do it…the research, that is, but Candy didn't know that. She thought I was treating Hiroki like a science experiment everyday despite my pampering of him. She accused me so many times, we had a fight nearly everyday. Then I asked her that question I haven't asked her in a while…

"Why are you here?" I cried, "Tell me the truth!"

"Neo, please." Candy sighed, "We're talking about Hiroki, not why I'm here."

"There HAS to be a reason!" I shouted, "You left me some 6 or so years ago saying I was too obsessed with my work! Why did you come back?"

"………I came back to give you a second chance, but apparently you're even worse off then before!" She cried, "Experimenting on a boy you made! He's not real! He's a fake! A cruel nature!"

"How can you call him that? I cried, "You played with him! Treated him right!"

"I had to!" She snapped back, "I pretended to be nice and friendly so I'd know if it was worth coming back to you. Apparently not, you're mad!"

"I am not mad!"

"You created a being that does not exist! Your blood it holds! Obviously, you created him to replace our son!"

"I did not create him to replace Akio!"

"That's a blatant lie! He's your son by blood, just like Akio was! You made him shortly after Akio's death! It makes perfect sense!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!"

"Your son is replacing the one we both had together! You're forgetting about Akio for that freak!"

"HOW DARE YOU CALL HIM A FREAK? He is MY SON! I LOVE HIM!"

She was silent, shocked that I said I loved him.

"You've flipped your lid! Well, SEE IF I EVER COME BACK TO YOU!" Then grabbing her coat and purse, she left, in her mind, never to return.

I sighed and sat on the living room chair, silence except for the fire crackling in the fireplace. In mere seconds, I heard small sobs. I left my chair and went into Hiroki's room where the sob came from. In there, Hiroki was clutching his elf doll and crying his eyes out.

"Hiroki, oh…I'm sorry." I hugged him, "I'm sorry you had to hear us argue so much."

"It's not…that." He sniffed.

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"I thought she liked me."

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Interlude

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 6  
Interlude**

**Year 7, Day 3  
**More people of my city came to ask for my advice. I gave them some advice, but left my office, confused on why they wanted me to give them advices. I later learned it was because I owned the three islands, thusly; anyone living in it treated me as though I was their ruler. The thought of being ruler entered my head a few times, but I mainly lived there with mayors and other government systems ruling, including Citadel City. When those people came up for advices, however, I understood my role as ruler was taken quite seriously by them, and thusly, I decided to become more active then seclude myself in the castle all day.

**Year 7, Day 14  
**This is becoming more and more like my personal journal then progress report. I don't know how many times I've repeated saying that, but damn it, I just feel the need to remind myself of this little fact. Not sure why. Any who, N. Gin and Brio saw I had another stressful period, so they decided on me taking a vacation alone. I refused to leave for more then a week at least, but the two somehow convinced me to take off more time them that.

"Crash is in good hands, Neo." Gin sighed, "Take a breather, go and explore the three islands more. You gotta know more about the place you own."

"We'll take c-c-c-c-c-c-care of C-C-C-C-C-Crash 'till then." Brio stuttered.

After many repeated words and promise that both the castle and Crash would remain in one piece until my return, I reluctantly decided to hike around the island, traveling to each island via a private jet I bought off an auction about a week back in Sydney, Australia. It was a sleep black jet, about the size of an average airplane. It looked more jet plane then regular airplane. It used to belong to an expert Australian pilot who's all but retired when a jagged piece of a bi-plane entered into his head when he miraculously survived a bi-plane crash. The jagged piece has yet to be removed, thus leaving him…err…mentally unstable. It is said it would be best not to remove as it might considerably damage his brain even more so. His wife takes care of him now.

Any who, the jet's name was formally known as "The Black Baron" for obvious reason. Frankly, I thought that was the stupidest name ever, so I renamed it "Nicodemus". Now THAT was a classy name.

Gaining my flying lessons weren't easy, but I actually received one in Sydney before Hiroki was born. Any who, with the jet plane in my possession, I had a private airport built near my castle just for Nicodemus. With it, I traveled all around the island and saw many a wonder. Beautiful jungles, mystical temples, anthros who didn't leave in Citadel City. I even met human tribal folks. One I manage to befriend was a rather big fellow named Papu Papu. He was a gentle soul who enjoyed eating and napping, but he showed a stern governing for his people. I spent the most time with him. In fact, it was because of him that I found something special. I'll write more tomorrow, I need to sleep now.

**Year 7, Day 22  
**Sorry I didn't write tomorrow as I promised, but things came up (one of them involving Gin and magnets…I'm sure you can figure out what happen there).

Any who, during my stay in Papu Papu's tribe, I learned a great deal of their culture. There was a temple nearby where they worshipped their Gods which resembled various Australian animals. I was given a nice tour of the temple (the tribesmen carried torches, I had a flashlight). In the end, I decided to leave for home, feeling rejuvenated. Papu Papu gave me something as a sign of friendship, a small, glowing crystal of violet color. It was no more then a two in a half inches, enough to fit inside your palm.

"This crystal is no ordinary crystal." Papu Papu stated, "This is said to have come from a more mystical source locked somewhere deep in this planet." He handed it to me and its beautiful glow captivated me.

"You mean there's more of these?" I gasped.

"Yes, hidden in the depths of this planet." Papu Papu answered, "It is said these crystals were created during the Earth's beginnings as a source to bring Earth life and nature. The crystals come in different size, most of them being about a foot long." He then showed me ancient paintings his ancestors had done of the crystal.

"These crystals have great power." Papu Papu smiled, "A person can emotionally, mentally, even magically link with these crystals and something good might happen depending on how true and pure a person's heart can be." I was amazed. I eyed the small crystal, then the paintings, then my crystal, and so forth.

"Even if your crystal is small, it contains a lot of power." Papu Papu smiled, "This is the only crystal we have ever had, but we pass it on to you."

"I am honored, but why me?" I asked, my breath taken away.

"The Gods have spoken to us…they see the crystal is best with you." Papu Papu spoke, "We are not sure, but we can see something good may come out of this. Keep it well. We are forever faithful to you, no matter what, Neo Cortex."

"Thank you."

I left after that, the legends and stories of the crystal never leaving my head.

**Year 7, Day 57  
**When I returned home, I spend weeks observing the crystal and seeing how powerful it was. I was amazed to see it powered up everything, and I mean EVERYTHING in the house: TV, radio, our inventions, the lamp, vacuum cleaner, the possibilities were endless. This one little thing could power up even the most advance of technology. I thought more of harvesting these crystals and using them for powering up our technology. It would save a lot of the Earth's energy and would be considered more nature friendly. The main problem lied in if the crystals had limited energy and if they can be found. The first theory would probably and so far be a limitless energy. Considering the crystals may have been around since the Dawn of Time and they're making our planet green and full of life, the crystal's energy would be limitless, perhaps. Given the factor we do not know how well crystals react to manmade machines.

I'm a scientist. As much as those legends intrigue me, I still must study this crystal from a scientific point of view. I spent many hours searching up information, but no books could I find with such information on the crystal. I didn't realize that I was ignoring Hiroki a lot, but I was so obsessed with my work, at that moment, I didn't care. I wondered if I made a grave mistake?

**Year 7, Day 122  
**"You need to eat something." Gin stated, "You barely ate since you brought in that tiny crystal."

"Just leave my food over there." I muttered. I didn't eye Gin, staring instead towards the crystal. It was a daily routine. I wanted to see how strong this thing was, so I flamed it, ordered missiles at it, tried to violently crack it open with a sledgehammer, but nothing. The crystal remained intact, the same as when I first got it. This little trinket was perplexing.

"Cortex, your son is crying out for you."

"I'll play with Crash another time."

"He really needs your attention." Gin sighed, "The boy cries for you. What kind of father are you?"

"I said I'll play with Crash later." I gritted my teeth, a bit annoyed.

"You've been saying that for so long it's lost all meaning." Gin mumbled.

"I heard that!" I banged my fist, "Don't make me pouch on you again! You can't afford another missile halfway in your head."

Gin grumbled, knowing he'd rather not risk it and left, leaving my usual tray of food on a desk just next to me.

"Big talk coming from someone who thinks Crash is a science experiment." I mumbled under my breath as he walked away. He heard, I could tell fore I heard him mumble something back. Not sure what though.

**Year 7, Day 156  
**The crystal had officially taken over my life and I was not happy about it. I knew my son was struggling, but my crystal obsessive lead me to do nothing. Crash was doing terribly in school sans English which he still passes with flying colors. Without my advices (which he said were helpful), he was starting to loose confidence. He started to get detention for picking fights because of the way they treated him. I regretted not stepping in earlier, but what amazed me was how Crash still tried to gain my attention. He didn't seem to resent me at all. This baffled both Gin and Brio who'd had thought Crash would rebel against me.

"He's seven; he's too young to rebel." I muttered.

"He's a lot smarter then you think, Cortex." Gin spoke.

I spend more months working on that crystal, hardly eating or sleeping. I was starting to stress out and loose my hair, but that was something I hardly cared about. Oh, how terrible I am. I'm surprised I even update this thing still.

**Year 7, Day 201  
**I just notice how I call Hiroki "Crash" now. What's the deal with that? Crash, to me, was only a nickname. Hiroki was what I called him because it his given name and a symbol that he is my son, but I can't stop calling him Crash. I should try and stop this annoying habit. The boy is my son, not some random friend I can visit on and off. Then again, when was the last time I had such paternal contact with him?

**Year 7, Day 267  
**Oh, God, I'm getting bald! That's it, I'm buying some Rogaine!

**Year 7, Day 311  
**I spent such a long time with this blasted crystal, I'm at the point where I am no longer in such tip top shape. I always had kept myself healthy by constantly exercising. I was quite skilled in marital arts and kendo. I was the best in my class despite my small size and huge head (I've been told my huge head actually gives me wonderful balance). I was once a pretty impressive ping pong master and my skills in soccer were impressive enough to lend me scholarships anywhere during my High School years (which I traded it all in for more educational purposes).

Now, every time I stretched, it hurt. My health wasn't quite as good as I wanted it to be. One little crystal made me like this: an obsessive, balding freak with no good health, and a terrible father to match. Not to mention a poor ruler. From what I heard, I haven't been to the last 3 meetings and those numerous amounts of ribbon cutting and announcements. All because of this crystal. This little thing was a curse bestowed unto me.

I wanted to get rid of this evil thing, but it held onto me like glue. I couldn't take it, I just couldn't. I knew that if I researched this thing any longer, it would take a powerful toll on me and cause me to be forever locked in its embrace. I had to stop and I had to stop now. Simply getting rid of it was out of the question. It was a beautiful thing and to see it go to waste was unheard of. I knew this thing had unimaginable power and virtually was indestructible, so giving it away to the wrong person could be fatal. They could use it for all the wrong purpose…

**Year 7, Day 345  
**I know who I will give the crystal, too.

**Year 8, Day 1  
**"This is for you, my present." I turned the crystal into a necklace. I placed it around his neck.

"For me?" Crash gasped, surprised at the present I had given him. I nodded.

"This is a special crystal." I started, "When one has it for a long time, they become connected to it. Depending on the level of purity one has in his or her heart, something good or something bad might happen."

Crash eyed the small thing now around his neck and started to cry.

"I'm sorry." He muttered.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, "You should be happy, it's your birthday, you're eight years now! You're even slightly taller then I am…by a couple of inches."

"No…I've been doing bad stuff in school like getting in trouble." He spoke through tear stained eyes, "I don't have any purity! The crystal will do bad stuff for me!" I sighed, then placed my hands on Crash's arms.

"Son…this is my fault." I slowly spoke, "I let myself be consumed by the crystal and my obsession with science to even spend any time with you. I let you end up this way and I swear, I never meant for this to happen. You are a wonderful child and I know you will never do anything terrible. Your heart is too good."

Crash nodded and took all this in. By this time, I was crying as well. I hugged him.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He sniffed, "I can never hate you…never."

I smiled and continued to hold him tightly. My cohorts watched from afar.

I vowed myself that this time I would spend more time with my son…

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Interlude II

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 7  
Interlude II**

**Year 8, Day 41  
**I was happy to see Crash still wearing that crystal pendent proudly around his neck. I once overheard him that he'd never let anything happen to it. He stopped getting into fights in school and managed to pull his grades up more. It amazed me how so many kids tried to steal his crystal just to get him angry, but Crash would protect that crystal by cupping it with his hands, never wanting to let go. He loved that crystal and treasured it.

I tried to spend more time with Crash, but every time I eye that crystal, I felt so lost in its glow, like it wanted to tug me back towards it. I wondered if it was a mistake giving the crystal to Crash.

**Year 8, Day 111  
**"We got an invitation to present out experiment to the greatest of scientific minds in America!" Gin cried, carrying an envelope which was one of the mails we got. We were having breakfast during this time. The envelope was a lovely light blue with a red seal on it; A bit bolded "B" with a roaring lion.

"Wait, which one?" I asked, "The Missile Displayer?"

"No."

"The Automatic P-P-P-P-Pancake Maker?" Brio came.

"The Teleportation Device?"

"No."

"The Giant Laser C-C-C-C-C-Cannon?"

"NO!"

"Then what is it?"

"They want to know about the Evolov-O-Ray!" Gin happily announced. Both Brio and I stood stun to our seats, out breakfast hastily turning cold. Our arm in midair carrying a spoonful of cereal just waiting to enter our gaping mouths.

"Ummm…hello, is anyone there?" Gin asked. I immediately grabbed Gin.

"Wait a sec! HOW DO THEY KNOW OF THE EVOLV-O-RAY?" I screamed, knowing full well that I told no one but my cohorts.

"Calm down, I told them when I was on the phone with them a couple of days ago." Gin sighed. I still had Gin in my grasp.

"WHEN WERE YOU ON THE PHONE WITH…WHOEVER?" I screamed, the giant top of my head ready to fly off from hot steam boiling deep inside me.

"Well, I figure the greatest minds of science would want to see the Evolv-O-Ray." Gin muttered. He shrugged in a casual manner as if my anger was nothing short of a joke.

"YOU TOLD THEM OFF OUR MACHINE?" I cried, violently shaking him. My face quickly changed from yellow to red.

"We had to someday and they're interested!" Gin cried, "If things work out, this could mean BIG money for us all and fame!"

"I ALREADY HAVE MONEY AND I DON'T CARE ABOUT FAME!" I screamed.

"For goodness sake, it's just for one day!" Gin shouted, "It's not like I can wipe their minds!"

"Well, I have been working on a m-m-m-m-m-m-mind wipe device…it's not working out well." Brio mumbled into the conversation, "Every test subject I do it on tends to salivate and twitch, so I still have a lot of bugs to work out on."

I groaned in frustration, almost tempted to chucking the milk carton onto Gin's non metal side of his round head.

"It's just for one day, this could be good for us." Gin suggested, "After all, we're scientists. We mess around with the planet's natural way of life." I mumbled something I wasn't too sure what it was, but he made a good point.

"…….Fine!" Gin cheered and danced around like a child during his birthday or Christmas. We were to go in two weeks time.

**Year 8, Day 133  
**We went to America and manage to arrive just yesterday. Currently, I'm suffering from jet lag, but I still need to update this thing. Any who, we were to go this nice mansion where scientists of all genius from all over the world come gather to reveal their latest invention. I admit, I started to lose all doubts over me wanting to show the Evolv-O-Ray when I saw the mansion, the people inside, the gadgets and gizmos they made. It was amazing and I felt truly honored.

Carrying and lugging the Evolv-O-Ray to Nicodemus was not easy for three midget scientists, but we managed in the end. I should have made a crane during this time, but it never entered any of our minds. Crash was to come, too. I had no intention of leaving him alone with a nanny. Unfortunately, Crash started asking questions on what the Evolv-O-Ray was and we had to keep lying to him, saying it was nothing. Crash kept asking and we mainly repeated the same thing. He eventually got over it and went off to play.

The mansion was owned by an old scientist named Dr. Gary Brown who made many wonderful contraptions, but kept most of them mainly a secret, saying the world wasn't ready yet. Whatever the case was, he was part of science for many decades: creating new antidotes, experimenting on animals, even being a major person on the cure for AIDS. He was quite a benevolent being. His years of work earned him respect and of course, money. The mansion was the most beautiful place I have ever seen and that's not counting the garden in the backyard (they have bushes and hedges cut up as different animals) where he has a hedge maze, water fountains, and clean, white sidewalks. It's like I entered the Garden of Eden.

Gin and Brio enjoyed the wine room and the weapon's room. Gin admired the different varieties of guns. I told him earlier if he wanted his face covered so as not to show off his robotic side, but Gin said he had his own presentation on the concept of cyborgs. I shrugged and said, "Fine, whatever. Do what you feel." Naturally, the scientists were interested in Gin's metallic shell.

Crash enjoyed the nursery room they had where other kids (the scientist being their parents) played with him with absolutely no problem. It didn't matter that he was the only anthro there, surrounded completely by humans, they got along fine. It made my heart leap to see Crash play with other kids his age instead of them berating him.

I took the time to explore the mansion. The main hallways were red with gold decorations. Exotic paintings and vases with colorful flowers were in every corner, as were round mirrors with gold surroundings. Each room I entered (that was empty) was each given a theme: one was Egyptian, one was Caribbean, etc. N. Gin and Brio both shared a room in the Greek based room where they each got their own toga. Gin with a toga is dangerously though. Because Dr. Brown knew of my origin, they gave me the oriental room which…well, honestly felt like home. Despite the fact that there was a bed, there were blankets and a sleeping mat incase you wanted to sleep on the floor and for nostalgic sake, I did. Although I did feel a sense of disturbance of my old home, as if my parents were breathing down my neck like ghosts.

**Year 8, Day 134  
**I spent some time with Crash before I went to meet the other scientists. One, however saw me and how I interacted with him.

"What is he?" He asked, "Did you create him? Is he your presentation?"

"No, of course not." I scoffed, "He's my son, an anthro."

"Anthros." The young scientist repeated. He looked about in his early 20's at least (I'm 31 one right now), "What are anthros?" I went off and explained what they are. When I noticed the young scientist was becoming more fascinated, I quickly added, "But anthros are rare creatures. You'd be lucky if you can find any." I felt guilty if scientists from all over started to experiment on them. Anthros, as far as I'm concerned, only lived on the three islands, but I heard there are some on other parts of the world, but hardly seen. Said to be in hiding. Anthros…a dying breed. I wonder if I did right think by creating Crash?

"So, where did you find him?" He asked.

"That's none of your concern, young man." Oh, great, I said "young man". I'm getting old.

"You better not let Dr. Brown see that." The young man spoke, "I heard he doesn't take too fondly to Anthros."

"Why would that be?"

"Something about them being vicious different then humans, saying how inferior they are to us humans." The young man shrugged.

"I doubt it when I show what I have in store." I smiled.

The young scientist just shrugged, eventually leaving to pursue his own interest, so I was once again left with Crash.

"Dad, what was that all about?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I asked, quite curious to know what is going on inside his head.

"I'm starting to question myself." Crash mumbled.

"Huh?"

"Cortex, come on, we got to get moving." Gin ordered.

"Oh, alright." I sighed, annoyed. I wanted to hear what Crash meant by questioning himself, "Crash, I'll be back in a few hours. Be good till then."

**Year 8, Day 135  
**My presentation wasn't going to be for another few days, so I watched other scientists show off theirs. Some I felt were pretty decent (The Serving Robot, The Portable Juice Dispenser, a pill to cure a cold in just a day, etc) while some were terrible (The Waffle Maker 3000, Electric shoes that make you dance, a pill to make your hair grow fast (when the latter was demonstrated, it grew a little too fast), and the ridiculous (a machine that scoops up your dog's wastes, electric bobble heads). Honestly, most of these inventions didn't so much as revolutionize the planet as it felt like making complete fools of themselves. They call themselves scientists! More like inventors who wants to sell and commercialize their products as fast as they could.

"I thought this was the science convention, not the inventor's idiot convention." I whispered to Brio at one point while a scientist was demonstrating his dancing shoes (he was doing the swim), "How does this define science?"

"Like I know." Brio mumbled.

"I can't believe you dragged us here, Gin." I muttered. He didn't listen…he was asleep.

**Year 8, Day 136  
**After that terrible display of inventions and notable "scientific discoveries", I went over to check up on Crash in the Oriental room. To my surprise, I saw him digging through my suitcase. Papers were flying everywhere!

"Crash!" I screamed. He gasped, turned, then cried a small, "Uh-Oh."

"What are you DOING?" I cried, "My research papers!" I quickly tried to pick them up. Crash eyed me curiously. After I manage to pick up every last one and placed them back in my suitcase, I eyed the child.

"What do you have to SAY for this, young man?" I cried.

"I'm beginning to doubt myself, so I checked your papers and stuff to find out." Crash softly answered, "Maybe something in there could tell me."

"WHAT?" I smacked Crash across the face, "How DARE you go through my research? You have NO RIGHT!"

"DAD!" Crash shouted. I stopped myself from giving Crash another smack. I gasped and notice what I was up to. I was going to smack him again. My hand was already in midair. I smacked my son and I was going to do it again…what is wrong with me? For a brief moment there, I felt a singe of hatred towards him. All because he was curious over something. I eyed Crash and he looked at me with tear stained eyes while his entire body was shaking and his legs bowlegged as if he just wet his pants….he was afraid of me. I never wanted this look on my son to ever come to me, but it did. I scared my son. I became a total stranger to him. I stood there for a moment and looked at my hands, and then I took a big breath and hugged Crash.

"My son…I am SO sorry!" I cried, "I never meant to hurt you! Never! NEVER!" I cried hard. Crash hugged me back, tighter then my own.

"I know, Dad, I know." Crash muttered, "You're my Otousan, you could never hurt me." It amazed me how much he still forgave me, "I just got to thinking after you talked with that other scientist."

"On what?" I asked.

"Well…I don't know my mother, Dad." Crash whispered, "I thought maybe you had a record of my birth. I tried to read what you wrote down, but they had too many difficult words to make out." I sniffed back a tear and smiled. We both sat on the edge of the red blanketed bed. What should I say? Should I tell him the truth? The truth that he was created from the very machine I was to present? Created so that I would have a son and the mere excuse for his existence was not because of experiments (which I had done earlier), but to have fill the gap Akio never did? My mind was confused and without thinking clearly, I had to do the one thing.

"You were adopted." I lied.

"….I…I was?" Crash gasped. I nodded, my head apparently liking the idea of this lie while my heart kept struggling to tell me to stop such a thing.

"Your real parents died in a…a…car crash." I quickly thought up, "And you didn't have any other family member to watch over you, so I adopted you."

Crash sat on the edge of the bed, starring at the floor for a long time, and then he eyed me, smiling and shining his big, green eyes.

"Well, my parents would be happy to know I'm with a great dad." Crash innocently smiled, "I think I get why everyone picks on me in school. They're not adopted!" He giggled and I laughed alongside him.

"Yea…that's why." I forcefully laughed, knowing in my heart, I was guilty for creating the ultimate illusion on my only child.

**Year 8, Day 144  
**Gin gave his before us and he was clearly in the winning lead. Considering cybernetics succeeded for him, think of what he can do for others. With metal, diseases and infection would be the thing of the past, among others. He got quite a number of applauses. Afterwards, it was my turn to present our project.

Lugging that stupid thing was exceptionally hard. Nobody bother to help. Once it was inside the meeting room (which was a round area with a table in the middle), we had to move the table to the side so the machine could be in the middle of the room. It was covered by a giant white cloth, so upon removing it, the scientists were shocked to see this monstrosity: The Evolo-O-Ray.

"With this machine, we can create anthros." I started, "Now Anthros are said to be an urban myth, but you all saw one…my son, Crash." I heard general mumbles.

"There are anthros among us all and they are a dying breed." I continued, "With this machine, I can create new anthros and repopulate them."

"Do you have any prove that this machine works?" An old scientist with brown hair and green eyes spoke. He had on rather large glasses with black rims.

"Well, we created Crash with it." Gin popped up.

"Gin!" I cried.

"Hey, you told me Crash wasn't made by that contraption." The familiar young scientist I met a couple of days spoke. I sighed and told him that because I didn't want anyone to experiment on him.

"Why?" They asked.

"Because we're experimenting on him!" Brio came to, "But C-C-C-C-C-Crash is living proof. We have photos and researches!" And we proceeded to show them off. I honestly didn't wanted them to know Crash was the result of our machine. I wanted to keep Crash faraway from the truth as possible. I wanted Crash to live a normal life…

After the scientists observed all our research and photos, we continued.

"The subject acts and speaks like a normal anthro who have been known to act just like a regular human being." Gin stated, "Although being an animal, his sense of smell and hearing is far greater then us humans possess." The scientists muttered some more. Then Dr. Brown spoke.

"The question I have is…is it necessary to bring back the Anthros?" He asked, "Considering how little their role played in our lives."

"Well, all living things help the planet and each other in more ways then we'd think." I stated, "Animals gives us food and clothes when we hunt them down. They in return keep nature growing when we humans pollute and destroy it. Like a cycle."

"Yes, yes, I am aware." Dr. Brown gently smiled, "But the anthros are just like us humans. Researches have shown they live in cities and build their own homes like us humans. They wear clothes made by animals just like us and they've been known to pollute and destroy this planet just like us."

"Wow, how do you know all these?" Brio gasped.

"I once spent a decade researching Anthros. Found a few in Europe." Dr. Brown smiled, the scientists quite shocked at this turn of events, "They are not Urban myths, but if you choose to not believe in me, I don't care. The point is, they are like us humans in so many way…we humans have already corrupted this planet enough, I don't see the point of bringing anthros in as well."

"Surely you don't mean that!" I cried, "They are still living beings of this planet! They belong here as much as the next guy!"

"When a creature dies, it dies." Dr. Brown said, "Nothing more can be done."

"We're scientists!" Gin cried, "We can do DNA test and such to clone them and such!"

"I've wanted to believe in DNA testings, but after so many failed attempts and years of maturity and growth, I've accepted that when it comes to life, the things are what they are." Dr. Brown smiled gently, "I believe in machines or tools or antidotes to help the current population, not play God."

The three of us stood dumbfounded. Oh, great…it seemed Dr. Brown wasn't all that cracked up to be. In my head, I wondered if what that young scientist said to me on Brown hating anthros were true? Did he merely make up crappy excuses so as not to show off his hatred for these creatures?

"I'm sorry, but you're creating a machine on a species that I consider ridiculous." Dr. Brown spoke, "The anthros are mutants who have mixed humans with animals DNA millions of years ago. They are vile creatures and do not belong in this world."

Bingo. Answer solved.

I stood stun. I could not believe he said that. He practically insulted my son along with the other anthros.

"Are you saying…our inventions are ridiculous?" I cried. Dr. Brown nodded, "…MY GOSH! YOU PERFER ROBOTIC DANCING SHOES OVER THIS?"

"Hey! I spend 15 years making these shoes!" cried the man who invented it.

"That will be enough. You can take your ridiculous invention away." Dr. Brown gestured us to move in calm, but conquering voice. I was naturally stunned.

**Year 8, Day 145  
**We left home today, none of us speaking a word. I was deeply upset. Because of his narrow minded hatred for the anthros, he embarrassed us in public, thinking we were an embarrassment to science everywhere. Crash was curious about me being upset, but I refuse to say a word to him.

When we got home, we place the Evolv-O-Ray back where it belonged in the lab room. I spent there sulking afterwards. As of this writing, I have to say one thing: I was embarrassed by one of the most brilliant minds of this planet. The machine I spent my heart and soul on, insulted by those…those…bastards! Those know-it-alls! I felt insulted and offended. As of this writing, I think I lost common sense, but I swear…those guys will get what's coming to them, mark my words…  
**To Be Continued…**


	8. Kid

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 8  
Kid**

**Year 9, Day 12  
**I spent some times mumbling about my plans for revenge over those idiots who proclaim my invention crazy and out of nature. I hadn't realized until now that I was doing such a thing. What's so interesting about this is how I don't feel guilty at all. My son seems to worry about me that I keep spending time inside my office, writing all my plans to get back with them. My so-called empire isn't doing so well either. Because of what I am currently doing, my empire seems to be suffering. I don't help people with their problem; I don't build new buildings for people or help out those in need. Hell, I'm surprised they haven't tried to overthrow me yet. Criticized me to get my act straight, yes, but no outright rebelliousness. I'd love to deal with it, but my current emotional has prevented me from even lifting a finger.

**Year 9, Day 22  
**Crash got the lead part in a play. Naturally, I was all thrilled for him.

"The acting teacher said acting is in my blood." Crash smiled, "This will be probably one of the greatest moments of my entire life…in school, anyways."

"What's the play about?" I asked.

"Peter Pan." Crash grinned, "I get to fly!"

"I know how the story of Peter Pan goes." I nodded as I set out to make lunch. Crash followed me in.

"Yea, but you have to make me a Peter Pan outfit." Crash pointed out.

"Oh." I stopped making the sushi, "Well, Crash, I don't know how to sew."

"Maybe buying a costume might help." Gin replied.

"Oh, s-s-s-s-s-stores don't carry costumes until its Halloween." Brio pointed out.

"Well, maybe we should take sewing lessons." I mumbled, "Can't be too hard."

**Year 9, Day 25  
**Learning to sew was a lot harder then I thought it would be. I manage to hire someone to help me. She was an elderly human woman, about 60 years old; calm, patient, caring. She was wonderful. Truly loved anthros, said God had a plan for every animal he made. As you could tell, she was a deeply religious person. Preached the Bible every chance she got. I asked her if she wanted to babysit Crash. She was absolutely delighted. Gin and Brio didn't seem to agree with me for some reason.

"You? Hire a babysitter?" Gin cried, "Back then, you didn't even trust us to watch over Crash whenever you were busy!"

"Well, people have changes of heart." I answered.

"I think you're starting to loose attachment on him." Gin shook his head.

"That is NOT true!" I retaliated, "If that was the case, I wouldn't be wasting my time learning to sew just so I can make him an outfit for his play."

"C-c-c-c-c-c-couldn't you let the nanny do it?" Brio asked.

"I'm Crash's father, I'll do it!" I cried, then I mumbled again, "I bet you're all jealous because I hired her to watch Crash and not you two."

End of Discussion…

**Year 9, Day 30  
**I manage to finish my sewing lessons and the costume was perfect. Very green, but perfect.

"You're the best Peter Pan ever." I smiled.

"Am I really?" Crash asked in an eager tone as he wore his hat, moving it around his head until he felt comfortable with it.

"Always." He hugged me and kept that smile all the way to his school where the play commenced. I swear, when he smiled…I saw the crystal around his neck glow.

The play was brilliant…well, brilliant for an elementary school. Crash shone above all as the boy who refused to grow up. Heck, adults begged for his autograph, thinking he's autographs would be worth something if he became a famous actor.

"I like acting, but I'm not sure I wanna built a career out of it." He told me.

As we drove home after the play, Crash and I spoke.

"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"You're not really drifting further from me…are you?"

"Wha-Where did you get a silly idea like that?"

"I overheard you talking with Uncle Gin and Brio a few days ago."

"Crash…"

"You stopped calling me Hiroki, too. You once told me…calling me Hiroki showed how much that I am your son and that Crash is merely a stupid nickname."

"Oh…oh…well, Crash, I'm getting older, my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be."

"Is that it?"

"……..Yes."

"…………..Okay."

"Crash, are you okay?"

"I'm…fine."

"Good."

"I did great in the play, didn't I?"

"You were absolutely perfect. Not even Disney's Peter Pan could match with your acting skills."

"Well, that's because he's a cartoon."

I chuckled, then I worried…what was happening to me? For once, I felt annoyed at Crash's constant observations and questioning of me…what has become of me?

**Year 9, Day 122  
**Crash and I are speaking less and less. Conversations that was meaningful seem to have leap out of the window. Dinner conversations weren't as lively as it used to be. I think it's me who's causing all this. Crash always tried to have a word with me, but I told him excuses and lies, saying I had headaches or too much on my mind to hear what he had to say. The first few times he was convinced, but Crash is no dummy. He manage to figure out that I was lying to him…he just never said anything, but you could tell.

**Year 9, Day 209  
**My journals seem to be getting more and more depressing. My three island home is turning rather shaky. Citadel City is in a terrible condition and Gin and Brio are both maintaining it as best as they could. Meanwhile, I just sit and watch and mutter. Revenge and anger enter into my head quite so often. Crash is starting to feel more of a burden then a son. What kind of a father am I?

**Year 9, Day 345  
**Crash is coughing quite a lot. He must be getting cold. I told him to rest and have some Chicken Noodle Soup. I didn't even tuck him in as I usually did

"That's okay…I'm 9, I can tuck myself in." He felt disappointed, not because I didn't tuck him in (he's aware he's old enough to avoid tuck in time), but because I was not there for him. I'm aware of my problems, but I never bother to do anything about it.

**Year 9, Day 355  
**The coughs are getting worse. Crash seems to be running a high fever. I don't understand it. Is this a fluke? Crash hardly ever gets sick. He is a healthy boy…

**Year 10, Day 1  
**He was well in time for his big 10th birthday. We had the usual big party for him complete with presents. Crash was lively as ever, leaping from sofa to chairs, crashing into stuff. It's been a while since he acted energetic. Heh. Brio, Gin, and I chatted.

"You two don't see to have a connection as you did before." Gin started, "I noticed."

"Well…I just have a lot on my mind." I mumbled.

"Always "I have a lot on my mind"!" Gin cried, "Stop it with the stupid excuses!"

"Gin, please, it's his birthday."

"There won't be any more birthdays if you continue to ignore him!" Gin cried, "He's going to rebel against you in ways you could not possibly imagine!"

"Shut up, Gin!"

"G-g-g-g-g-guys! Enough!" Brio butted in, "A 10 year old boy is watching us act like…well, children!"

"Blame it on Mr. Denial over here!" Gin pointed.

"I'm this close to jamming another missile in your head!" My face turned red.

THUD!

The three of us turned around and we saw Crash, lying on the ground…

**Year 10, Day 4  
**After much research, we found out Crash's blood level was dangerously high. It's back to normal now, but we were baffled at how this came to be. He certainly was not stressed enough to reach that level. It's as if his own body was trying to kill him. Whatever the case was, we decided on a much more closer observation of him from now on. Obviously, I didn't tell him what truly happened to him and I made sure the others didn't either…  
**To Be Continued…**

………………

**Author's Notes: **Updated Chapters 5- 8 with basically minor edits like better grammar and stuff. A couple of added dialogue, nothing too major.


	9. PreTeen

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 9:  
Pre-Teen**

**Year 11, Day 13  
**Hello, my name is N. Gin. That's really all you need to know. Good friend and colleague of Neo Cortex and Nitrous Brio. I've been with them for so many years; we all trust each other…although lately, my trust in Cortex has been faltering. He has changed a lot over the years I've know him. Started off kind and benevolent, but now…he seems…well, more evil. More angry, more revengeful. The biggest evidence I could find was with his relationship with his son, Crash. The two started off as inseparable duos, now Cortex can hardly stand him. Crash is yearning for his father's attention, but he's been stuffed in his lab more often then not. The people of Citadel are already complaining and giving us little sleep as they continuously knock on our double door. And I swear, Crash'll end up rebelling against his only father.

**Year 11, Day 54  
**Cortex is spending an awful amount of time in his lab, muttering about some plan to get revenge. People keep pestering him: the citizens of Citadel, for one. Others just annoy him, such as his son and the scientists he met years ago who berated and embarrassed him. Brio and I are beginning to worry. I kept asking myself if I should quit being his colleague and go pursue science in my own way, but both Brio's loyalty to Cortex and my interest in researching Crash have left me stuck in Castle Cortex.

Crash is trying to speak with his father again. Cortex lies and makes up stupid excuses to lead him away. I think I've heard him cry a couple of times in his room…

**Year 11, Day 134  
**"Uncle Gin, can I talk with you?"

"Well, sure…what about?" I asked to Crash, who was an 11 year old boy. He was growing up.

"I know the subject I'm going to bring up will be uncomfortable, but I need to talk to someone about it."

"Uh-Oh." I softly muttered, fore I knew what the subject would be.

"It's about dad." Bingo.

"What about him?" I asked, pretending to think I wasn't aware of what he'd say.

"I want to know what is wrong with him." He softly spoke, "I don't care what it may be…please tell me."

"Crash…nothing is wrong." I lied. Oh, great, now I was lying, how hypocritical can I get?

"Liar." Crash mumbled in a calm manner, "Something's wrong with dad…I wanna know. Tell me, please."

"…..Your…father's…not well in the head."

"I'm aware of that." Crash nodded, "What I want to know is what triggered him to behave this way? What happen to the caring father I know? He's so…cold."

"You have doubts of him." I sighed.

"I do…but I hope the reason he is cold to me is a good one…so…so that I wouldn't have to rebel against him."

"It's not a good one. He got mad during that science meeting years back when his invention wasn't all that cracked up to be to the others."

"What invention?"

"…Uhhh…Ya know, I can't remember!" I think I sweated a little, "The point is, it greatly upset him and now he thinks the entire world is out to get him."

"…I see."

A brief silence fell before Crash spoke again.

"…Will Dad…ever be the same again?"

"I don't know."

"…He won't turn…evil, will he?"

".…….I don't know."

**Year 11, Day 200  
**I seem to have more arguments with Cortex more so then having a friendly chat with him. How upsetting. It's a shame Crash had to hear these arguments most of the time. We usually end up fighting whenever he's near. How saddening it is to see a child at his age seeing two adults fight nearly everyday.

**Year 11, Day 214  
**"You think I failed this test because I kept thinking of my dad?" He asked me one day. He studied for a big exam in Math and flunked it right on the spot.

"I mean…I try to study, but all I keep thinking of was my father."

"Well, you can try again." Brio suggested.

"Look at me, blaming my father for this." Crash mumbled, shaking his head, "But…I…I seem to have problems with him. I love him, but I want to shout at him."

"Shout?" I repeated.

"Yea, yell and scream at him! I want him to know how much he's hurting me right now." Crash confessed.

Throughout the days, Crash seem to be slowly, but surely noticing the changes in Cortex. The man hardly left his lab and barely talked. Crash was starting to lose respect for him…at least, that's how I see it.

"Maybe you should tell your father how you feel." I suggested.

"I try, but he never listens." Crash muttered, "There's really no point."

"You'll never know unless you t-t-t-t-t-t-try." Brio defended me. Crash only nodded slightly, then let out a soft smile.

"Everything…will be alright though…in the end." He continued, still putting on that fake smile, "We'll laugh and play and…and…I'll blow bubbles on my chocolate milk and jump on dad's bed…and…we'll have…fun."

Denial, how much more did he have to suffer?

**Year 12, Day 3  
**Only when I'm writing does my stuttering problems go away. After all, my mouth does not control my hand. As I write this, Crash got into a fight with Cortex. I, Nitrous Brio, was shocked to see the child yelling at his own father. It was sometime after he came from school.

"Your teacher told me you've been failing school lately." I heard Cortex speak. He was so different. Physically, he looked the same as ever; short and yellow skinned, but enough changes were made to fit his new, drastic personality. His hair fell from stress and he now has a massive bald spot. He has bags under his eyes, and he seemed…paler then usual.

"….Did he?" Crash asked.

Crash has changed, too. He's taller then anyone of us. Being only a boy of 12, he stood a good 5 feet. He still had plenty of growing to do. He's developing more (he keeps himself in shape). His eyes are still youthful and green and his fur was as orange and glossy as ever, but his smile has all but left his face, replaced with frowns. Despite all that, he still looked the healthiest out of us, and considering his age compare to ours, that comes to no surprise.

"Why is that?" Cortex asked, "You're usually a good student. Maybe you're spending too much time on those video game systems. What was it? Playstation?"

"I don't play them that much, I play outside, too, ya know."

"Don't get smart with me, young man!" Cortex wagged his finger, "You're obviously doing a poor job in school. What a lack of responsibilities! I should lock you in your room and make you study 'till nighttime!"

"I DO study, but it's not video games and playing outdoors that distract me! I've never let it distract me before!"

"Then WHAT is causing you to act this way?" Cortex's face turned red.

"It's YOU!" He cried.

A stunned silence.

"What?" Cortex whispered.

"It's because of you that my life is going down the crapper!" Crash cried, "Every time I hit the books, I think about you! Every time kids want to play with me, I think about you! Every time a teacher calls on me, I think about you! I'm WORRIED about you! You've changed so much!"

"I CANNOT believe you're speaking to me in that manner!" Cortex's voice rose, "Do you have any damn clue who the hell I am? Your father, that's who!"

"Fathers care!" Crash cried, "Where were you when I needed someone to hug on a bad day! Where were you when I needed help on my homework? Where were you when I wanted to play ball and have some father/son time? Stuck in that dusty old lab doing…well, SOMETHING!"

"You little…how DARE you speak back to me? I gave you food, shelter, education, and love, and this is how you repay me?"

"Yea, you gave me all those, but the last one you seem to be missing out on." Crash muttered. Cortex tried to speak, but words failed him.

"GO….ROOM…NOW!" He barely manage to say after a good 10 seconds of soundless gaping. Crash eagerly did so, slamming the door. Both Gin and I stared at Cortex and said nothing.

**Year 12, Day 6  
**They didn't speak for a while until…

"Dad, I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"…That's alright."

"I love you, Dad, you know that, right?"

"Of course I do." Cortex sounded so tired.

"…I'll leave you alone with whatever it is you're doing."

"Thank you, son." Crash left the lab and went into his room. Cortex didn't sound sincere.

**Year 12, Day 44  
**"Eureka!" He came downstairs from his lab to both Gin and I. Crash was outside playing.

"I know what to do!"

"What to do what?" Gin asked.

"What to do to get my revenge on the world." Cortex grinned.

"Revenge on the world?" Gin cleared his throat.

"Of course…everything is going downhill for me. No body likes me, not even my son, no matter how much he apologizes. Don't you remember the argument? He's getting older and learning more. He might rebel against me. I have to be ready at all cost."

"C-c-c-c-c-c-cortex, what are you saying?" I asked.

"I mean…World Domination!"

The two of us stood still before we laughed. It lasted a good 3 minutes.

"You…you think this is a joke?" Cortex softly spoke, "You think I'm lying?"

"Well…" Gin was about to start as he got up from the floor where we laughed.

"I'm not lying…I'm going to take revenge on the world by taking over it." Cortex suggested, "The people of Earth will fall under the wrath of my powers…just you wait."

Then he left. We didn't take him seriously.

**Year 13, Day 1  
**Crash was officially a teenager…but Cortex did not come for his birthday party. This was the first time he skipped out. Why? Because he's too busy planning world domination. Already Citadel City turned from a quaint little city into Cortex's tyrant prison cesspool. Everyone was under his command and any one who didn't obey would be killed. We didn't believe in that he'd be serious about world domination, but considering he turned the three islands into his own personal heaven (which means hell for the people living there), this was a serious matter.

What's even worse was the rage of animals, both anthros like Crash and normal, ordinary ones were brought in often to the castle, trapped and imprisoned. From what Cortex told us, the ordinary animals were those he caught himself while the anthros were people originally in jail for their crimes. He didn't tell us what he was going to do with them, but we were scared…Crash more so then any of us.

Speaking of Crash, he's life hasn't gotten better either. As much as he hated how his father was treating him, the poor boy was in absolute denial that he's father was going to stay evil and corrupted forever, thinking he'd change one day. He's always come downstairs for breakfast with a smile in his heart and an optimistic voice. What's even worse was his unexpected faints which have gotten more frequent. With Cortex stuck in his lab most of the time tinkering with the animals he imprisoned, Gin and I prescribed medicine for Crash to stop his faints. His blood pressure goes dangerously high, causing him to drop unconscious. The medicine reduces it greatly, but this was a great concern. Gin experimented with Crash often (it was a good excuse to experiment with him), but found nothing yet. I, however, mainly supported the boy in dire times. We tried to explain to Cortex of Crash's current status, but he paid no attention. How upsetting.  
**To Be Continued...**

…………………

**Author's Note:** The thing about Crash in video games is that he's size is pretty small, being about the same size as Cortex. In my version, he's the size of an average human being. Be it the fact that I draw him that way, be it the fact that my fic is mature and thusly, I made Crash mature both emotionally and physically, this is generally how I portray his height. Looking at my Crash arts will help to better emphasize what I'm pointing out, but only if it's your choice. On the other side, Cortex be flippin' his lid. Oh, and we see Gin and Brio narrate. Next one has Crash narrating.

**Changes:  
**-Added the fact that Crash is trying to be happy by denying.  
-Added a bit more on Crash's faints and high blood pressure matter.


	10. Teenager

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 10:  
Teenager**

**Year 13, Day 22  
**We couldn't escape. We were pretty much imprisoned in Castle Cortex. We each had jobs to do. Uncle Gin was the tech engine. Uncle Brio was Cortex's personal assistant. I, well…I was more or less the waiter to the prisoners. Prisoners composing of anthros and regular animals. Dad was testing his machine. I've seen it many times, but I never knew what it was…until now. The Evolv-O-Ray. Changing normal animals into anthros like me. Changing anthros into…well, that depends. In most cases, they die from the affects of the machine or turn into a mutant. Most cases, they end up dying a few days later, not surviving the aftermath. Sometimes I wonder, was I also affected by the Evolv-O-Ray? I refuse to think so. I want to believe that my father adopted me and took me in his home…but I'm starting to doubt.

I don't know what's wrong with dad. Was it really because of those stupid scientists who said his invention was crap that caused him to turn into this state? I wonder, but I could never get a clear answer. I would try to question him, but ever since that argument a while back, I just didn't have the heart to argue with him. I loved my father, but I know part of me keeps telling me to stand up and do something. It's my love for him that's holding me back. My name is Crash, well, my true name is Hiroki, but everyone calls me "Crash".

**Year 13, Day 46  
**I saw some of his creations today. That barbaric machine punched out more insane animals then I'd have imagined. My father was playing God…a screwed up version. Creatures who survived the testing were to be part of his army to take over the world. So far, he had three: a blue kangaroo that underwent under the Evolv-O-Ray too much, warping his mind. A straitjacket was needed to keep him from destroying everything in sight, but even then, as a kangaroo, he hopped and crashed into more places then I did in my entire lifetime. Having a conversation with him is pretty damn hard, too. It usually went along like this:

"So, Ripper Roo…what's your opinion on video games?" I would start, "Personally, I think they're the bee's knees."

"HAHAHAHWwhaahahQHhhhAaahaha! SQUEE!"

"…..What? No, VI-DE-O GAAAAA-MES, not…Squee."

"HYPER DOO! HAHAHAHHAHHAAaaaahjhhhaaa! ELEPHANT TITANS!"

"Okay, let's change the subject. Ya like Wumpa Fruits? I can't get enough of those!"

"HAhahaahaHHAHAHhAaa!1!1!1 8kte! KoOL!1111! EMOTicON! WTH! LoL!1111! INTERneT!"

Yea…………………….let's move on.

The second was Koala Kong. I don't know how many steroids Dad fed him. He was muscle-bound and completely idiotic in the brains department, letting his muscles do the talking. And yes, he comes with the An-NOLD accent. The two of us don't talk much without him mentioning how much he adores his muscle…and how he wants to be a movie star. The last one was Pinstripe Potoroo, design in full Mafia glory, complete with Tommy Gun. With the complete Italian accent and his mafia status, he easily dirtied his hands more so then Koala or Ripper Roo. He was a bit cold blooded, not hesitating to shoot anything, living or dead. Whenever Dad needed to rid of someone who failed an experiment, Pinstripe would be the one to ante up the number of corpses. He and I hardly spoke. He always gave me the look like I was just a mere child not worth his time with temptations to kill me. I haven't really done anything to me, but one quick stare and he'd scoff at me as usual and keep an even tighter grip on his tommy gun. In only a matter of days, Dad favored those three more so then me. I admit I was a bit jealous.

**Year 13, Day 68  
**The bright spot came into my life when I was taking food to the prisoners. I noticed a new prisoner in a cell faraway. With bright yellow hair and big, light blue eyes, she was a lovely creature.

"Oy, ya a prisoner, too?" She asked me.

"Huh? Me? No…well…sorta, what with the way I'm being treated." I answered, "I work for Cortex."

"Ya do?" She gasped.

"I kinda have no choice."

"I see."

"When did you get captured?" I asked.

"When I heard rumors of anthros mysteriously disappearin'. I was curious, so I went to investigate and my snoopin' landed me here."

"Sorry to hear that." I sighed.

"I don't understand what's goin' on." She muttered, "I'm a bit scared. Oy…"

"Don't be, I'll make sure something good will come out of this." I promised. The girl stood up. She was about my height. I was only 13, so I wasn't exactly tall yet.

"My name's Tawna." She smiled. Her voice had such an energetic tone.

"I'm Hiroki, but everyone calls me Crash."

"That be a weird name, mate." She giggled.

"Not as weird as "Tawna." We both giggled.

**Year 13, Day 122  
**Tawna made my life better. We chatted about so many things. I wanted to free her so badly, but 1.) I wasn't allow to or else and 2.) Only Dad has the keys to the cell and he kept them well hidden. So far, Tawna was lucky to have not been selected as part of Dad's mental plans.

"What do like to do?"

"I practice kickboxin'." She showed off a couple of punches, "Gotta defend meself and all."

"Defend meaning landing in prison?" I smirked.

"Oh, ha-ha." Tawna grinned, "I was caught by them gun wieldin' potoroo and his friends unexpectedly. Besides, I'm still practicing."

"Are you any good?" I asked.

"I'm th' best in my entire family!" She proudly spoke, "I'm always the runt, so I practice to raise my confidence!" I laughed hard, not because it's funny, but it made me filled with joy of how unafraid Tawna is, despite being stuck in a cell, despite she herself admitting she was scared many times before. I sensed deep bravery with her.

"Do you do any fightin'?" She asked.

"Well, Dad taught me enough Karate and Japanese fencing, but what I've really been working on was this spinning attack." I eagerly spoke.

"Spinnin' attack?" She asked with a puzzled expression, "Well, don't just stand there, mate! Do ya spinnin' attack. Let me see."

"…Okay, but I'm still practicing, so no laughing." I pointed. Tawna raised her hand up and promised like a scout. I got into a short meditating pause, drawing in…umm...chi or something, waited for a good few seconds while taking deep breaths, raised my feet up a bit, then I let loose like a kid unwinding his yo-yo. My entire body was spinning, but unfortunately, I had yet to master it, so I went spinning out of control until I hit a wall…HARD, causing me to stop and leaving me immensely dizzy.

"CRASH! YA OKAY?" Tawna cried from her jail cell.

"I'm….fine…Taxi Driver." I spoke in a high squeaky voice as I literally saw stars around me. I heard Tawna laughing. As soon as I got my head working again, I laughed with her until my sides hurt.

**Year 13, Day 154  
**Tawna was a lovely sight to see. Her hair reached neatly down to her neck while it matched perfectly with her twinkling blue eyes. She don a red sleeveless top and short blue pants. To top it off, she wore black sneakers. Her clothes were a bit torn as the days passed by and getting more dirty. It was like she was living with pigs and literally rolling around the mud and dirt with them, but her beauty never disappeared. I think it grew each passing day. Especially her eyes. I can't ever get tired of those eyes.

"So, where did ya get this crystal?"

"Dad gave it to me." I answered, "He told me it's not an ordinary crystal. When someone and the crystal are together, they have some sort of spiritual connection."

"Really?" She asked.

"Yea…the crystal has a tendency to glow whenever I'm happy." I added, "But lately…it hasn't glowed."

"Because you ain't happy." Tawna finished, "Right?" I nodded.

"My Dad is mental…he's…changed." I slowly spoke, "I don't know why, but he's serious about his world domination."

"Wait, your Dad is that crazy big headed scientist!" Tawna gasped. I nodded, "How can someone as sweet as you have HIM as a Dad?"

"Don't know." I shook my head.

"Honestly, I thought your dad was someone else or somethin'." Tawna sighed, scratching her head.

"Well, he's my pops, the one who taught me everything." I weakly smiled.

"OY! If you're his son, ya should stand up to him." Tawna suggested, "Tell him to stop or you'll…ummm…leave."

"I can't."

"Why can't ya?"

"…I love him too much…besides, he'll turn back. Things will end up for the good." I put on the best smile I could muster, trying so hard to be optimistic. It was a hard thing to do, be lighthearted in a time like this…

**Year 14, Day 189  
**I loved him so much that I didn't have the heart to tell him off. Secretly, I wanted to, but I couldn't. It felt like a giant barrier was blocking me from leaving the castle and that only getting through it was Tawna's words. She was a strong willed girl, mature for her age, and all around great listener. She made me feel happy and warm inside. I didn't know what this feeling was…I still don't, but…I think I may like her.

**Year 14, Day 233  
**I observed how I am around Tawna. Every time she smiles, my heart flutters and takes a leap. Yea…I think I like her a lot. Despite my relations with Cortex, Tawna only filled me with kind words. She told me about her life, such as...

"I have four older sisters: Liz, Isabella, Ami, and Megumi. Being the youngest, I usually feel inferior and weak, so naturally I just fight and get stronger." Tawna mumbled, "I wonder how they're handlin' without me."

"I'm sure they're devastated, Tawna." I smiled. Tawna giggled and agreed.

"Must be nice…to have loved ones." I sighed, gently smiling.

"Ya should talk to him." Tawna once again gestured. Usually, I'd have yelled at her to shut up about that particular subject, but I knew she was right. My love for father was preventing me from telling him off. It was painful.

**Year 15, Day 3  
**Tawna spent nearly two years in the prison dump. Many times was she about to be picked up by Dad to be experimented on and many times did I manage to save her by making blatant excuses not to pick her.

"She's sick today, Dad, won't do you any good to use someone who's sick."

"No, maybe once we fatten her a bit. Someone as skinny as her would never survive the machine."

"She just hurt her ankle when she slipped. Some other time?"

"I think he's a much better choice then her. I mean, he already needs to pay for his crime."

It went on and so forth and each time, Tawna was grateful. I doubt I could keep handling this, my Dad's too smart. I needed to do something. Maybe I should free her in a sneaky manner and make it seem she'd escape on her own? No, that wouldn't work. Father would chase her down all the way thinking she escaped on her own. He can't let word slip on what he's doing, despite Citadel City turning into Earth's very own Hell. No matter what plans and ideas I scribble up, nothing works. I spent hours doodling up a plan in my bedroom.

**Year 15, Day 13  
**"Oh, I forgot to say Happy Belated Birthday, Crash." Tawna smiled, "Shame there's no cakes…or presents."

"That's okay." I smiled, blushing, "You talking with me is the best present I've gotten in years."

"So, what's the deal with your Dad right now?"

"Well, he hasn't thought about you in a while, so I guess all things considered, he might have forgotten ya." I spoke with enthusiasm, "But I'm keeping a guard up."

Tawna smiled. Man, I can't get over how beautiful she is. She seemed to notice I don't get out of the castle much except when Dad took me and my uncles on vacation, although when was the last time he's done that?

"Other then that, ya seem to stay here all the time, ey?" Tawna gestured.

"I go to school…well, I used to." I mumbled, "I've been permanently stuck here for 2 years since Dad went psychopathic. I'm not just concerned and worried, I'm BORED. I played through Final Fantasy IX like the gazillioth time. I need new video games. I want to get out."

"I'm stuck in this prison cell, but it seems you're more caged up then I am." Tawna clutched the bars, "How ironic. Ya should be free."

"I don't want to leave Dad, my uncles, and especially you." I spoke with a bit of passion. Geez, I sound like those love struck men in crappy B-movie romance plots. Tawna blushed when I spoke that last part and I quickly cleared my throat.

"You're sweet." She giggled. I giggled back, but mines was definitely more awkward and goofy. In my head, I kept crying on what kind of stupid laugh that was. I was mentally hitting myself on the head with my fists. I wonder, am I getting love struck?

**Year 15, Day 35  
**"You seem to be spending an awful lot of time in the prison holds, Crash." He spoke to me during dinner. Dad started to hire chefs and maids to do the housework around here.

"Well, lot of mouths to feed." I stared down at my rice. He didn't look convinced.

"You're not befriending anyone of them or freeing them behind my back, eh?"

"Gosh, no! What do you take me for, Dad?"

"Well, you seem to make excuses quite a lot with that girl. You never do it to anyone else. RIPPER! CUT THAT OUT! PINSTRIPE, KOALA!"

"AAHAAHAHAHA! AMUSING!" Ripper, Koala Kong, and Pinstripe recently joined us at the dinner table as if they were a member of our family. Naturally, I felt uneasy, but I mainly just avoided eyeing them and talking with them. They in return ignored me and went about their business. Pinstripe and Koala Kong, I notice have become fast friends, those two usually the one trying to stop Ripper Roo whenever he does something unusual, mostly because dad tells them to. Today's being him repeatedly dipping his head in the mashed potatoes like that bobbing drinking bird toy.

Pinstripe and Koala Kong manage to stop Ripper who's face was smeared with mash potatoes, then the two resume talking. I turned my attention to dad and spoke my piece;

"Well, she gets sick easily, that's all."

"That's all?"

"Dad, trust me."

Silence. In my head, I hoped he believed in what I said. His face, stern, cold, and unforgiving, seemed like he didn't. Any minute now, I swear he'd jump off the dinner table and try to cut me with the kitchen knife. At the same time, I thought of how I lied to my own father. If I loved him so much, why did I lie to him?

"Okay."

That was that. We ate in silence, me silently a bit happy Tawna was safe and that this had been our longest conversation in years.

**Year 15, Day 100  
**Looking back at all these…all the events that have happened these two long years, I was given an ultimatum. I lied to my father to protect Tawna, but I loved my father enough to still keep her locked up. I had a choice though: Side with father or side with Tawna. I was beginning to understand more…I was falling in love with her…

**Year 15, Day 167  
**I wanted to tell her, but I was shy and dangerously nervous. There she was, a bundle of perfection. Despite being in a cell for two (and made her more dirty then when I was kid happily rolling in mud), she was far more perfect then any creature I have ever meant. She made me feel complete, like I actually do matter which my father never thought me in the past couple of years. Even my uncles seem to be influenced by him. Uncle Brio was loyal to Dad before, but now he was practically his shadow. Uncle Gin was carefully following in his footsteps. Those two have gone against me, especially Uncle Gin. He always argued against Dad, but now…he was slowly following in his footsteps.

"What your father is doing is a great thing, Crash, be a part of it." Uncle Gin told me one day.

"I'm s-s-s-s-s-s-so happy to work for your f-f-f-f-f-f-father." Uncle Brio told me, although unlike Uncle's rather cold face, he's voice looked one of guilt and fear. But even with his look, Tawna was all that I had left…

**Year 15, Day 234  
**"Tawna, I wanna tell you something." I mumbled softly.

"And that is?" She gestured with a playful smile. It's amazing how she can still smile through all this.

"Well…it's been bottled up inside me for a while now." I cleared my throat, "Well, look…you…you're swell."

"Okay." She giggled, thinking I have more. I do, but nothing seems to come out.

"Umm…um…you have great eyes…" I struggled to find the right words, "And…and…" I spent all day on the mirror rehearsing this, but I was speaking to the real deal. At least the mirror was inanimate object. Tawna kept that smile, making me wonder if she was expecting me to say, "I love you." The words never came and I left it as "swell" and left. _Crash, you idiot._

**Year 15, Day 360  
**The turning point in my life. It all started when Dad summoned me to his lab.

"Crash, come in, please, we must talk." I grew suspicious and very afraid, but I entered anyway. The stormy rain outside didn't exactly help either. There was my father, sitting on a chair with its back turned to me like so many Bond villains.

"We need to talk." He spoke softly, but in a stern fatherly voice.

"About what?" I asked rather meekly.

"This." He took out a remote and turned on a small TV next to him. There I gasped as I witness black and white tapes of me chatting with Tawna. That's when I realize I was the biggest, dumbest, stupidest IDIOT alive. I had completely ignored and forgotten the security camera. DAMN IT! I didn't move, I just watched as I heard myself talking. Dad spoke again when he clicked the TV off.

"Been watching you for months now…so…little Crash has a girlfriend." I stood silent, he's back still turned against me, "…Touching."

"Don't hurt her." I mumbled.

"All those excuses you gave her…lies. You lied to your father." Again, I was silent.

"I should ground you for all eternity, but no…you've manage to put up with me for years now. You deserve a reward."

"What reward is that?" I gasped. Silence. "Come on, Dad, quit the crappy James Bond villain drama!

"You're weak, my child. Weak…but I can make you strong."

"What do you mean?"

"My army of mutant anthros, all charged and powerful, more so then regular anthros and humans combined…together, the Earth is my sushi…Crash, you are my son…I want you by my side."

I glared at him, keeping my distance.

"I want you to be the leader of my army. You can be strong." I was stunned. I just stood there. I thought he'd punish me.

"Well?"

I stood silent again. What should I do? Should I join? He is my father. I thought these things, but every time I did, Tawna's voice came in and tried to stir me away. How could I refuse her? Then again, how could I refuse Dad? I realized again I was left with little choice in the matter. I had one choice, one person to pick and whoever I did would forever alter my life.

"Well?" He repeated, "Consider it a very belated birthday present."

Glaring with tears coming down my face, fists tighten, I answered.

"No."

"…..What?" He turned around to face me. My gosh, he's gotten worse. I was surprised he had a giant "N" tattoo on his head. Where on EARTH did he get that?

"No." I repeated, "I should have said that many years ago, but I had thoughts that you'd change back and inside, I still do, but I can tell it's not now! You've changed. My caring father is gone, replaced with some demented sick freak I don't even know! You're NOT my Dad!"

"I've treated you for SO long and you repay me LIKE THIS? LIKE THIS? Listening to that girl then your own father? You disobedient little freak!"

I stood my ground, ready to fend him off.

"You're going to regret you ever said that. GET HIM!"

Out of nowhere, I was jumped by his top three anthro henchmen; Ripper Roo, Pinstripe, and Koala Kong, as well as my uncles. I was beaten senseless until I could barely get up. I tried to fight, but I was still in the middle of shock…plus they came out of nowhere, what was I suppose to do? Once I was lying on the ground, hardly conscience, I could hear their voices ringing in my ears.

"I never liked you to begin with, kiddo." I heard Pinstripe.

I was dragged to the Evolv-O-Ray then where once I was strapped in; my father came close to me, grinning.

"I'm not going to give up on you, you WILL lead my army, even if I have to brainwash you." He spoke, "But first, I must make you far more advance then you are now." He was about to push a lever.

"DAD! PLEASE! DON'T!" I cried, tears flowing uncontrollably.

"Too late." He mumbled softly, "You need to be punished. A son should always obey his father." No amount of my tears would change my father's mind. I was about to change for the worse, possibly both mentally and physically. I screamed before he could even turn on the machine, but once he did, my scream became louder. I thought I felt pain, but it was only inside my heart. It seems none of the machine's electrical surge even reached me to change me into…well, something. I gasped and opened my eyes and was met with blinding white and light blue light combined together. Everyone near me cringed from the horribly blindness. I could barely keep my eyes open, but once I found out what was causing the machine from reaching me, my eyes were wide open: my crystal, which I often either wore it around my neck or kept it inside my pants pocket.

The machine could barely take it and it's electrical surge instead cut through the shackles I was tied to. I gasped and coughed while the others were recovering from the blinding lights. Noticing I was free, I made it my duty to escape.

"GET HIM!" I heard my father cry. I was trapped with no where to go. Koala Kong had blocked the double door out. Too weak and bruised to fight, I saw my savior in the form of the castle windows. The only escape, provided I drop hundreds of feet to my doom. Damn, what a way to go, I thought. I had little choice. I should have done this while I had the chance, so with whatever courage I had left, I dived out of the window and into the ocean below where the thunder and rain from outside caused it to rip and turn around in a violent manner.

I blacked out sometime there because I can't remember what happened seconds after I landed in the ocean. All I remember before blacking out was my entire life flashing before my eye…mostly of me and Dad. How he used to hug me and cherish me…I always felt like the Cherry Blossoms danced around me whenever I thought of our past with dad…now that's all gone now. Despite me being completely surrounded in water during that time, I felt the tears sting my eye. Dad…what has become of you? Of us?  
**To Be Continued…**

………………

**Author's Notes: **In the original Crash games, It's been said Cortex threw Crash out when he was a reject in Cortex's ever growing arsenal of mutated animals, but since this is my version and since I wanted to deal out more of the personal relationship between Cortex and Crash, we get this. I also have to emphasize that Crash's crystal plays an extremely important part throughout the entire storyline.  
And of course, there's Tawna. She's all busty in the game and in truth, she's kinda ugly, but the latter I don't really judge by. In my head (and my drawing) she's less busty and more attractive, but that's not truly important as her personality is. Seeing she has absolutely next to no personality, I had to make her one. She's a sweet girl with a nice side and a good heart, always lighthearted, never taking life so seriously, but in her stay in prison, she gets stronger, especially physically. She's a damsel in distress because it's the plot of the first Crash game, but I wanted to put her in a role where she would take care of herself. I'll include her often throughout the chapters and NOT erase her off "mysteriously" that Naughty Dog did, for whatever reason (the biggest reason being she's "too sexy" or whatever). Oh, and the idea of making the CTR (Crash Team Racing) girls her older sisters came from the fact that they remind me of Tawna a lot. Perhaps the tallness? So until then, hope you enjoy this!

**Changes:**  
-More details on Crash's relationship with Ripper Roo, Pinstripe, and Koala Kong.  
-Crash describing Tawna more.  
-Made it so Tawna has an Austrailian accent.  
-More detailed info on Tawna and her hobby as well as Crash attempting his infamous spin attack  
-Detailed info on Ripper Roo, Pinstripe, and Koala Kong.


	11. Teen

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 11:  
Teen**

**Year 16, Day 3  
**I think I was out for days now. The first thing I saw when I woke up was the ceiling. Tan in color, apparently made out of straws, held in place by wooden beams. I moved my head around some more and saw potted plants, a flickering fireplace, small dining room table, wooden floors and walls, colorful carpets, and well…basically a house. A rather warm, friendly house where the perfect family would live with no shame. Damn, my eyes burned during this point. I blinked repeatedly, pretty much assuming that the whites in my eye were blood red now. I looked around some more and eventually moved parts of my body. As far as I was concerned, I was still in one peace. I took a deep breath and decided to close my eyes again. I tried to sleep, but I couldn't, so I opened my eyes. I closed them again and continued to repeat…until I opened my eyes once more and notice something different: Kids. Lots and lots of kids starring back at me.

**Year 16, Day 4  
**"MS. ROO! HE'S AWAKE!" Came a rather scrawny little kid. Every one of the kids murmured as they waited for this "Ms. Roo" while I just kept starring at them with shock and confusion. All the kids were anthros like me. Wonder where their parents were?

"Oh, you're alive, thank goodness!" Came a mature female voice. I slightly raised up until I was in a sitting position. Ms. Roo was a brown kangaroo with a blue dress and darker brown hair. She didn't look so old, maybe in her early 30's, I assume.

"Don't get up, I'll get you something to eat!" And she quickly ran into the kitchen where I could hear the sounds of pots and pans clanking and falling as she hastily tried to prepare a meal for me. In about 3 minutes or so, she manage to make me a few sandwiches making me believe the clanking pots were caused by her running into it and hastily making me food.

"Maybe I should have made you soup instead." She gasped as I scarf those sandwiches down like vultures on carcass. I quickly shook my head, "Oh, there's no need, these are fine…and very good."

"Ooh, he can talk!" A random little girl with pigtails pointed.

"Sierra, it's rude to point." The one named Ms. Roo lectured. Sierra quickly took her hand down and looked in shame. I sighed at the little girl and spoke.

"Of course, I can." I half closed my eyes, "You thought I was mute or something?" The little girl giggled, proclaiming that I was "funny." Good, I made her feel better.

After I had eaten, I sighed and asked who they were.

"My name is Ms. Roo and this is the N. Sanity Orphanage." She explained. Ahh, so that's why there's so many kids and one adult, "And you are?" I thought hard. N. Sanity…the smallest and very first island of my island home, where my father rules with an iron fist. I think I remember Tawna one time saying she lived in this island. Wonder if I can meet her sisters? It seems my dad has not yet gotten to this island yet. The orphanage itself doesn't feel filled with evil and darkness. Whenever I see the little things in this small house, I see the care of a parent or guardian, a sense of warmness and belonging, a feeling I have not felt in so many years. It was most welcoming. My father…I had no clue if the children and Ms. Roo was aware of his evil malice. I ultimately decided that giving out my true name could cause possible turmoil. I had no intention of frightening these innocent children, so I kept my nickname.

"My name is Crash…Crash Bandicoot." I slowly said.

"Crash, that's a silly name." came a chubby little boy with a beanie on his head, "That can't be your real name."

"…I don't know my real name." I lied, "I only remember this name."

"Well, we did find you stranded on a beach." Ms. Roo explained, "And there was a storm a few days ago, so it makes perfect sense that you might have some sort of amnesia."

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"About a week, more or less." Ms. Roo answered.

"Oh." I made it sound like it was nothing. I manage to get up and noticed all I had on were some blue jeans, the pants rolled up so that it was just below my knees.

"Your clothes were wet, so we gave you some jeans instead…is it okay?" Ms. Roo asked. I admit I wasn't used to the idea of being shirtless. I noticed a lot of the boys in the orphanage, mainly the older ones were shirtless. I didn't really care that much, after all, I'm completely fur. Maybe this was something I could easily warm up to. After all, the weather feels more hotter here. I guess mainly because I'm not way high up in the comforts of Castle Cortex where chilly air and air conditioners are common.

"If you need a shirt, I got one that might fit ya." A boy who sounded like he was 12, but was nearly my height said.

"I'm cool." I gestured.

"So, do you know anything of your parents?" Ms. Roo asked.

"No." Again I lied again, "Can't remember where I was from either."

Ms. Roo found this troubling and insisted that I stay in the orphanage. I was too weak and dizzy to disagree and did so until I recovered.

**Year 16, Day 30  
**Okay, I admit me staying in the orphanage was a lot longer then I wanted to stay. These kids were really getting into me. I often got to thinking at times. My father said I was adopted and if that was the case…I wonder if this was the orphanage where I came from? Who knows? There's only like so many orphanages scattered around the islands. Still, it would have been nice to know. The kids are I were having no problems getting along. I was the oldest out of the 20 or so kids with the second oldest being a girl named Toni who was about 14. She's usually Ms. Roo's assistant on watching over the children. She was very much a mature girl for her age. The kids could only see me as a fellow orphan and nothing more. Considering I ran off from my father, I sometimes felt like one. I got used to the warmer weather and I was mostly seen wearing short knee length pants and Hawaiian shirts, open, revealing my fuzzy chest and stomach. My crystal was kept in my pocket at all times.

Every night, I would stare at the castle from the distance. It's usually late at night when everyone's sleeping. The full moon seems to shine only towards Castle Cortex. I was upset, I was sad. I thought of Uncle Gin and Brio, but mostly, I thought of dad and Tawna. The last one stayed in my mind a lot. I never realized I felt so strongly about her. Leaving her trapped in there saddened me. It didn't help that my father wasn't exactly doing so well himself. I just kept starring at that castle every night, not doing anything about it.

**Year 16, Day 33  
**"I saw you."

"Huh?"

"You've been doing it for a while now."

I was lounging around, reading a book when I saw this little blonde haired girl talking to me. She had on a sleeveless blue shirt and matching blue jeans with pink sneakers. Her hair was unusually straight (most of the kids had rather messy hair) that reached down to her waist. A blue bow was on the left side near her ear. She was a bandicoot like me. Orange furred as well as green eyed like me. She looked about 10, 11 maybe.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"For some time now, late at night, you keep starring at that castle in the sky." She spoke, "You must be connected to it somehow." I was flabbergasted. So, this little girl managed to spy on me staring at that "Castle in the sky".

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Coco."

"I see." I nodded, "You must be a pretty smart and clever girl. Well, yes, I was starring at that castle."

"Do you live there?"

"Someone I care about is in there." I didn't answer her question, "I know…I remember…I have to save her."

"Then why don't you?" She asked, "After all, she must be special to you. That place is pretty bad enough with that evil man living in it." So they have heard of Cortex and his undoing.

"Yea...maybe." I muttered.

**Year 16, Day 45  
**The girl Coco fascinated me. She remained me a lot of dad: Calculating, intelligent, and clever. Just minus the big head and evilness. In fact, she was the only one in the orphanage to fully operate a computer. She knew more then I did and I lived with a scientist. Her best friend seemed to be a boy dingo named Tobias whom both seem to share a crush with each other. Kinda cute. Both too smart for their own good, I'd say. Tobias was a delight to talk too as well.

"I can see you care greatly for Coco." I said one day.

"Well, the first time she came to the orphanage when she was about 5, she's been shy and crying a lot." Tobias started, "I felt sorry for her. I tried to help her in and in time, she and I became friends. She's getting stronger and more confident."

"Ain't that nice?" I spoke as I stared at that small girl, busying herself with the only computer in the orphanage (and a pretty old, outdated one, too).

"Yea…I'm gonna marry her someday." Tobias grinned.

Coco and I talked more after she confessed on how she spied on me. She was great to speak with. Despite her age, Coco was very mature and knew a lot more then all the kids combined, plus me, and Ms. Roo.

"So, how did you get here?" I asked. Coco was silent.

"We were in Hong Kong…I was five." Coco started, "A bit of a cliché, but my parents were killed in a car accident. I was in with them, but I survived. My parents didn't. We rammed into a truck because it stopped all of a sudden. This set a chain reaction and other cars bumped into our car…all because of that stupid truck. Apparently, the guy driving it wasn't exactly sane."

"I see." I muttered.

"As I felt every bump from the car, I felt closer to death. I couldn't stop screaming. I wasn't aware, but halfway towards the accident, my parent's scream were no longer heard. I didn't notice until everything was over. Everything silent except the sounds of police cars and ambulances." Coco continued, "I was lucky enough to walk away with a broken arm and some scratches. My parents weren't so lucky. I was sent to live with my grandmother in Australia, this island we live in, but it didn't last long since she started to develop a cancer that made her incapable of taking care of me. It didn't matter anyways, I hated her."

"Why?"

"She was rude, she was mean, she physically abused me, hitting me with her walking cane or slapping me with her hand…I was five. What kind of a person hurts a five year old?" I sighed, remembering when my dad smacked me when I went through his research papers when I was 8.

"The police got word of my grandmother, her abuse and her cancer and sent me away to the nearest orphanage since I had no other relatives…that's how I ended up here." Her voice drooped into more sorrow as she told her tale and all I could do was place an arm around her tiny shoulders. This was a child who felt a pain all too similar to my own. I felt even more connected to her then I had ever felt in my entire life.

"When I came to this orphanage, I was so alone and scared." She continued, "I never thought I could trust anyone or befriend anymore. I was too sad and angry at the events that unfolded into my life…until I met him." I had a hankering I knew who that "him" was.

"He's name is Tobias, you know, the boy I always hang with." Bingo. The story Tobias told me all but was being repeated, only in Coco's view.

"He's the same age as me, only slightly older. He befriended me and took care of me. He taught me lots of stuff you couldn't learn on an intellectual level. I grew to trust him…he became my best friend." Coco smiled softly, "I wouldn't be where I am without him. He picked me up during my time of sadness. Gave me that confidence that I so needed." I nodded and thought of Tawna…she gave me the confidence I needed to get out of that wrenched castle and over to this peaceful place.

"He's so great." Coco smiled weakly, "We're gonna get married someday."

After that, I couldn't help but laugh. So, both Tobias and Coco want to marry each other when they're older. In all honestly, I thought that was cute, them being kids and all. But then again, I see the two together so often, I would be unsurprised if the two hitched.

"What's so funny?" Coco placed her hands on her waist, "We're gonna marry when we're older! Is it so wrong?"

"Nah, just…I just feel…happy, that's all." I wiped a tear off from the crying.

Once I heard Coco's tale and how she survived all this, my mind was clear. I was going to save Tawna and make my dad the man I loved and called "father".

**Year 16, Day 51  
**"So, you're going away." Coco spoke, rather upset.

"For a while." I said, "Not sure how long."

"To the Castle in the Sky?" She asked, "It'll take you, by foot, about 5 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, and 6 hours, provided you sleep for 8 hours a night and eat and rest for a total of an hour and a half times." I smiled and patted Coco's head.

"I'll be back sooner then you think, kid." I smiled, then left the room I slept in. The same bed where I first woke up after I escaped Castle Cortex. I shared with four other boys, all about 9 to 12 years old. As I made my way to the living room and eventually outside, all the kids started to wave good-bye. More then half cried their little eyes out. Ms. Roo made me some of her homemade meals to take and Tobias offered me a survival's guide.

"I think we could survive either way, we're animals." Tobias shrugged, although Coco reminded him we were too different to be compared fully.

I made a final farewell and started my long journey.

**Year 16, Day 122  
**I don't regret leaving the orphanage. I had a gut feeling I would return. Exploring the parts of the island home felt exceptionally wonderful. I saw sights I never saw before. The trees, the water, the animals, the exotic smell of flowers, damn…what have I been missing out? For the first time in my life, all traces of my father left me as I explored a world I never even knew about. I never knew just how much beauty was carried over in my island home. I spent days climbing over rocks, leaping over swampy waters filled with mosquitoes, stepped on stones to cross raging rivers, and even befriended few tribal villages and animals (a boar seemed to wanted to follow me around a lot). All in all, I kinda regretted not having a camera around, but I noticed taking a picture didn't matter as long as this was all in my head, as part of my memories. I saw the beauty of these islands and I look back at my father's castle and Citadel City. Both used to be pretty clean places, but toxic wastes, unused technology, horrid garbage…it was ruining the beautiful world of these three islands. That man had to be stopped.

**Year 16, Day 167  
**I manage to reach the second island. A huge waterfall overlooked most of the island and misty areas were aplenty. So far, so good. I'm alive and well. I manage to develop some of my muscles a bit from all the climbing and running. I was stronger and faster then I was before. My immunity system has gone up and I hardly ever got sick. I could swim faster and surviving in the wild was no problem. I figured out which berries were poisonous or not. Of course, one time I ate some poisonous berries and nearly died if I didn't have a first aid kit. Another time I was bitten by a snake, only surviving due to the snake first air kit. I found out Tobias' survival guide book was exceptionally helpful on what was poisonous or not. I thought myself the concepts of first aid. When it comes to physical damage, that was of little worry for me. I was born to withstand such physical blown. I could fall off a 10 feet cliff (and I did) and I walked off unscathed. I fell into a raging river once and I kept hitting a lot of rocks before I ultimately grabbed onto one and manage to pull myself up. I only made it with a few bruises and a broken finger. Nothing more, nothing less. Or maybe I'm just lucky?

**Year 16, Day 180  
**Every night I think about dad and Tawna before I sleep. I wonder how they're doing? I wonder if I can reach them in time? Will Tawna be experimented on or worse, dead, by the time I come and rescue her? Will my dad ever return to that caring, warm man I once knew? I ponder about this for about 15 minutes before sleeping for the night…

I had so much left to go.

…………………

**Year 16, Day 181  
**My name is Tawna. I'm 15 years old and if I was home right now and not stuck in prison owned by a demented vertigo challenged scientist, I'd be in 10th grade in school, getting' picked on by my older sisters, and practicin' kickboxin' and tryin' to get a black belt, Oy. The latter I do inside the prison, buildin' up my strength both physically and emotionally. At times, I get to fight the other inmates. Considerin' most of them are already criminals, I don't feel too bad when I beat the crap outta them. It kind of helps with the pent-up rage I have inside me, actually. Any who, here I am, wonderin' on how to get out. I've actually devised many plans and even tried some of them. One instance was when I was hired to do Cortex's laundry, I tried to sneak out of the castle, but I made a mistake by goin' down the laundry chute when I saw Brio and Gin comin' from opposite directions. OY! No place to hide, I went down there and ended up back where I originally was and by that time, I was taken back to prison by one of Cortex's mutated idiots: Koala Kong. Ain't that a kick in the pants? I tried again and half the time I was caught. It was when Cortex threaten that he'd experiment on me that I decided to just give in. I was surprised he still kept me. I wonder why he had no intention of usin' me? I'm not some sort of pawn in his little scheme, am I?

Whatever I am, all I can do is act helpless, basically act like Princess freakin' Peach in the Mario games: helpless and waitin' for a hero to come save me. I hate that, what a wasted and stupid cliché. I want to escape and I usually make random outbursts at times. I hate this, I hate feelin' weak. I want to be a Xena or a Buffy, not Princess Peach. It don't help that Cortex's main henchman are a bunch of annoyin' twits. They especially like to bugger me.

"So…what is it about that Crash youse like so much, dollface?" Pinstripe would ask me. I swear, the next time he calls me dollface, I'll punch 'em.

"Oooh, yes, he is an idiot." Koalo Kong chimed in, "I mean, he plays too much video games. I do not understand what's up with those stupid things."

"I don't either, but I gots to say, they're filled with a lot of variety, I'll tall ya that." Pinstripe chuckled, "Of course, that don't mean nuthin'."

"So…I heard boss got a new recruit. I wonder if he is any good?"

"I heard he's an ol' friend of the boss. Said he's name was Papu Popa or Popo Pupa or sumthin' like that. Well, I hope he's any good and not as blatantly useless as that kid." Then he turned and stared at me. "Ain't that right, dollface?"

I punched him, and Ripper Roo laughed…more so then usual.

Between Crash's escape and now, those have been what I've been doin': trying to escape, thinking a lot, and fending off annoyin' henchman. I wonder if my older sisters are doing okay? I wonder if Crash is doing okay? Oy, mate, this is gettin' on my nerves!

………………

**Year 16, Day 233  
**Finally reached the third island. Already I feel a sense of familiarity. I could smell the toxic waste and smogs of various factories my father made during his time of corruption. The leading factory is rumored to house various nuclear items as well as machine capable of making destructive robots. Considering Dad was into mutant beasts, the robots were Uncle Gin's.

To get to the castle the fastest way, I had to surpass the entire factory until I found an exit. Getting inside was no problem. I still had the access card given to me by dad when I was about 13. Seems he has yet to terminate my account so far. Was he expecting me to come back and beg for forgiveness? Too busy with work? Who knows? Getting pass security wasn't, however. I noticed lots of wanted posters with my face. So, he didn't terminate my account, but he's already made wanted posters. A bit misleading and ironic, I'd say. Security Guards were everywhere as well as workers. Getting pass them wasn't all that hard. Not to be bigheaded, but I was agile and swift, almost like a ninja. Okay, not really like a ninja, but almost. Being in the woods further helped my abilities. My spinning attack has gotten much better. I could easily control my movement, but I could only spin for a few seconds. I hoped to extend that.

It was when I entered a rather cozy room where I felt I took a wrong turn…and I did. It was filled with a red couch and two matching arm chairs, a painting of my father in an abstract Picasso-style artwork, one bookshelf, plus a giant glass window overlooking a green nuclear pool, and a brown desk with papers, coffee mug filled with pens and pencils, and a lone orange stood. And of course, behind that desk is none other then Pinstripe himself. He immediately spotted me as I just barged into the room, expecting another area filled with security guards and monotonous workers. Boy, was I wrong?  
"What th-"

"Oh, crap."

"Wait a minute, I know ya! Youse that boy the boss is looking for, Crash, is it!" He pointed towards me, "Youse that kid I hate!"

"Uhh…" Yea, quite the speaker, am I?

"Well, since youse is here and all, I guess I gots to take you back to the boss."

"Dad." I manage to say.

"Youse got it!" I never gave him a good description, have I? He wore a red pinstripe shirt and looked to be about a few inches taller then me (about way into the 6 ft. range). He's hair was jet black and his fur brown with light brown mixed. Next to him was a tommy gun, his primary source of weapon.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, "I thought you were with dad last I check."

"I run this here factory, courtesy of the boss." The tall creature spoke to me, "Now then, I gotta take you to the boss, so come with me, he's been very worried about you."

"I can go myself." I gulped. Even if he intended to take me to dad, I didn't trust him, so I remained hesitant.

"Ya little brat, if you don't come willingly, I won't be afraid to do it by force!" And that's when he took the tommy gun and started to shoot around me, the bullets landing on the walls. I cringed and ducked. He kept shooting towards me, but not at me. He knew I needed him alive. Of course, that didn't prevent me from shouting; "You idiot! You'll shoot me to death! I'm needed alive, remember?"

I hid in various couches and armchairs surrounding his little room, hearing the sounds of his gun and his high pitched cackling.

"Youse about give up?" He cried, "Youse in a terrible disadvantage! I have a gun, you don't!"

"That's where you're wrong!" I cried, "If you have brawns, it's more then enough to match with my brains!" And with that, I skillfully dodged the bullets and started to use my patent spin attack. It was all or nothing. Pinstripe didn't expect me to perform such an attack and grew even more shocked when all that spinning dizzied him as I circled the room, spinning. When Pinstripe started to turn green in the face, I stopped and laid a punch on the face, followed by a kick. I quickly then took his tommy gun and spin dashed it, breaking it in two. I honestly didn't know how I had it in me!

Pinstripe was mumbling while lying on the ground, dizzy. I made my escape by going back out and trying to find another route. It was only a minute after I ran that the alarm let loose. Pinstripe must've regained consciousness and activated it. I hasten and saw "Exit" sign located above a double door. In but a few minutes, I was out the opposite side where I was greeted by the sky. I ran further away from the factory and hid inside the bushes until all the guards had given up on chasing me. I then continued my journey, happy that I was near Citadel City.

**Year 16, Day 260  
**The city was far worse then that factory. Wanted posters of me wanting me alive was everywhere in the city and all for a handsome reward, so any greedy idiot would return me just for that large sum of cash. I had to mostly sneak around during the night, sleeping in the day (hiding, of course). Sometimes I adopted disguises, but I didn't do that often (do you know how itchy it is to wear a fake beard?). It took many a day and a great deal of patience before I manage to reach Castle Cortex. I noticed a small change in that there was a giant violet blimp with a giant yellow "N" plastered onto it. Why he had a blimp when he had the Nicodemus was unknown, but that was not my problem.

Security was of little problem, I knew this castle's layout and booby traps like it was my own backyard. What I didn't know was the people who would stop me as I made my way to dad. By then, word got out (possibly from Pinstripe) that I was sighted and on the run.

Between me and Dad's lab was Ripper Roo, Koala Kong, and Papu Papu, the latter being old buddies with Cortex. When he joined, I don't remember, why he joined, merely as a sign of friendship with Cortex…and from what I heard, getting kicked out as leader of the tribe for doing a crappy job.

"Ahh, guess the son has returned." Koala Kong's thick accent came through. Koala Kong, the big, gray red tank donning muscle bound idiot.

"Yes, Crash, welcome home." came the more calm voice of Papu Papu. Ripper Roo just laughed hysterically, like he always does.

"AHAHahahahaaHAhAAhaA! SNIZ!"

"I came to see my dad and put an end to all this crap!" I cried.

"We'll gladly take you to your father, but he expects you to be a good boy and be by his side again." Papu gripped his staff tightly.

"Didn't you hear a word I said?" I cried, "I'm against dad's crazy beliefs! I won't be part of it! I'm gonna change dad back to who he was and none of you are going to stop me!"

I just made a death wish.

"If you are against the boss, then you must be destroyed!" Koala Kong hissed, "Let's get him!"

"Not again." I mumbled, and I got to fighting them.

Papu was the easiest to beat and manipulate. His heavy built made him strong, but he lacked speed which I greatly possessed. I used that to my advantage. Since Papu mainly wasn't bright enough to do nothing but slam his staff down, hoping it'll hit me, I used that as my advantage. I would get in front of Koala Kong or Ripper Roo and move out just as Papu was about to smack me. He instead got them. They manage to survive that blow which made me go into another plan. I manage to take a giant leap and ride on top of Papu like a child would on a parent. Papu took his staff and tried to swing it, attempting to hit me. In the end, he ended up hitting himself just as I leaped out of harm's way, making him unconscious. One down, two to go.  
Koala Kong was about as strong as Papu, but unfortunately, faster as well. Luckily, he's about as dumb as Papu, if not dumber. He tried multiple times to slam his fists down on me or kick me to a wall. Few times he succeeded on slamming me to various objects around the castle (Suit of armors, paintings, vases). I swear I heard one of my ribs crack. Ripper Roo was the speedy one. A fast little guy who balanced out Koala Kong, so this was of little advantage over me. Considering how little brains they lacked, I used my brain over their brawn.

"Geez, you really want to be harming me instead of each other?" I coughed some blood out. The two made a "huh?" face. I continued.

"I remember when I was still living here; I overheard Koala Kong saying how Ripper Roo is the stupidest animal alive." I eyed Ripper Roo, "He said you're a freak of nature not fit for this world." Then I turned to speak with Koala Kong.

"And I heard…well, TRY to hear anyways…Ripper Roo doesn't take too fondly of you, thinking you're some steroids for brains."

"WHAT?" Koala Kong cried. Ripper Roo merely growled and hissed.

"You called me a WHAT!" And soon, the two started to fight each other. Idiots. I made my way to the lab and locked the doorway.

"Both their brains combined and I'm already smarter then they are."

"Not for very long." I turned around from the door to see Uncle Gin and Brio, eyeing me from beneath the shadows they were surrounded by.

"Oh…our little godson has returned." Uncle Gin spoke in an eerily calm manner.

"You mean the t-t-t-t-t-t-traitor?" Uncle Brio snickered.

"Guys." My voice was starting to break, "Can't we talk about this?"

"I don't see why Cortex would still want you after you made that escape." Uncle Gin hissed. So, my dad did wanted me back, "Brio, take care of him while I report to Cortex." Uncle Gin walked off another doorway, leaving me alone with Uncle Brio in this cold, distant lab.

"Uncle Brio, please." I gulped, "I'm your godson. You're little "nephew."

"I'm sorry, Crash…I have to do this." His voice…it sounded like it was filled with a sense of regret. He took a small beaker from his lab coat and drank it. I only stared, wondering what'd he plan to do.

"I really am, Crash." He barely whispered. The next thing I knew, I saw him…Uncle Brio turn from small 4 foot tall scientist to a giant, hulking, green 7 foot tall…umm…Hulk wannabe for lack of better description. Completely shirtless and with bulging muscles, I knew I was in trouble.

**Year 16, Day 261  
**Sorry to leave it as a cliffhanger, but I had to rest before I could write down the rest of my tale. I need sleep, ya know. Any who, Uncle Brio, massive Hulk-wannabe, me? A small 5 foot something bandicoot anthro caught, doing…well…nothing but gasp. It was when Uncle Brio slammed his fists down almost on me that I moved out before he could crush me. He started to chuck tables hosting chemicals and computers. I was lucky none of the chemicals changed me into something unnatural. The computers he flung did hit me a couple of times. Ouch, there goes another rib. Once I was down, Uncle Brio came charging towards me.

"Uncle Brio, STOP!" I cried. He didn't and I moved out of the way. In fact, for half the battle, all I ever did was runaway. What more could I do? I couldn't seem to stop him. I thought it was pretty challenging fighting those three outside the lab, but this is like all three combined, plus Uncle Brio himself. I was being flung around as he caught up to me quite often. By this point, I was bruising and bleeding. I believe I had a black eye on the right eye, blood coming from my mouth, and ruffled fur, not to mention all the little cuts I got.

By the final turn of events in this battle, I was left battled and bruised, almost barely alive, one could say. Uncle Brio came closer to me, picked me up, and started to squeeze the life outta me. With whatever life (and breath) I had left, I barely manage to speak to him.

"Uncle Brio…don't…please don't do this." I felt tears, "I'm your…godson…why would you do this? Do this…to family?"

Uncle Brio, almost ready to pop me like a balloon with his bulgy steroid bound arms starred deeply at me. As I was struggling to breath, he was shaking. We stared at each other for a long time before I felt a small squeal. I thought it came from myself, but it was Uncle Brio. I then notice a small stream of tear coming for his right eye. Then his left. Starring up, I noticed he was crying. Soon, his entire eyes filled with salty tears. He laid his arms down where I fell hard on the ground, and got down on his knees. It was awkward to see a giant, hulk-like being crying, but I think I got through to him…at least, I hoped I did.

"C-C-C-C-C-Crash…CRASH!" He gave me a bear size hug which didn't bound well due to his massive weight, "WHAT HAVE I DONE? I've become a m-m-m-m-m-monster…LITERALLY!" He bawled.

"My little godson, I'M SO SORRY!" He choked, "What kind of a godfather am I? What kind of an uncle am I to c-c-c-c-c-c-cause my only little nephew/godson to get HURT?"

"Uncle Brio, if you keep this up, you're going to attract people!" I cried, "Handle yourself!"

"Right…right." He sniffed. I felt awkward again, but touched.

"I have to find dad, I also have to find Tawna." I commented, "In fact, I daresay we need to free everyone kept prisoner. This has gone far long enough!" I stood up and tried to control my breathing and clutching to whatever injury I had on my side.

"Your uncle Gin is getting Cortex." Uncle Brio commented.

"I know…maybe I can talk with him." I gestured.

"I didn't w-w-w-w-w-wanted to…but Cortex can be such a c-c-c-c-c-commanding guy." Uncle Brio muttered, facing hanging low in shame, "I'm never s-s-s-s-s-so confident with myself."

"I don't blame you for joining in, concerning your personality." I spoke calmly, "But right now, I need to find and talk with dad."

"So, you wish to talk to me?" I gasped and turned around to face my father. He's changed. He was on top of a red hover board. I think I remember seeing prototypes of the hover boards he's been trying to build. I assume that's either the final version or another prototype. He's skin was still yellow, but his black hair (what little hair he had, anyways), were not so much as straight as it was twisty and looked as though he hadn't combed in days. His eyes weren't green anymore, no longer green like mines, instead, it was deep red. Contact lens? I don't know, but I didn't like it. The "N" on his forehead still imprinted on his head.

"Dad?" I gasped.

"My son." He spoke in a cool, unloving voice, "This is why I want you to be the leader of my army. Took down Papu Papu, Koala Kong, Ripper Roo, Pinstripe, and even outsmarted Brio. Fine warriors they are and you bested them all. You truly are the best."

"I don't want to be in your army!" I cried, "I just want everything to be back to normal, the way things were meant to be!"

"You know that'll never happen." Dad shrugged, moving in closer to me via his hover board.

"If that is the case, then I have no choice but to rebel!" I cried, "I'll destroy this entire lab if I have to."

"Looks like you pretty much did that." He observed the lab where Uncle Brio and I were fighting.

"Crash, I'm giving you a pretty good choice, an ultimatum, join me or I might do something terrible to a close companion of yours."

"What?" He snapped his finger and out came Gin with a remote control. It was for Tawna who had on a collar around her neck.

"This collar contains poison. With a push of the button, she goes dead in three minutes." Gin snickered, "Trust me, there's no antidote anyway here."

"TAWNA!" I cried.

"CRASH!" She screamed, "….You're a mess."

"This is horrible!" My uncle Brio blubbered.

"I cannot believe you would do something like this!" I cried, "How could you stoop this low?"

"It's how I am now, Crash." Dad snickered, "If you value the life of this pretty girl, you will join me. I've kept her alive long enough to do something of this sort, to lure you back. Well?"

Damn it! As if the decision was hard enough to choose to escape the castle months ago, now this? Why does my life suck so much? I knew I had one chance, one choice. I had to make it count. What could I do?  
"Crash! JUST GET OUT!" Tawna cried, "I'll be fine!"

"Well, Crash?" Dad repeatedly asked. GAH! My brain was trying to kill me. I clutched my head, clenched my teeth, and held my eyes shut, deciding on what I have to do. Why does life intend to frustrate me?

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I gasped. Someone was screaming. In seconds, I found out it was from Uncle Brio who charged towards my dad who in turn end up knocking Uncle Gin, the remote control slipping out of his hand. Uncle Brio was holding both Uncle Gin and Dad in his grip.

"QUICK! RUN, CRASH!" He gestured, "I have n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no clue how long my chemical enhanced form will l-l-l-l-l-last!" I quickly ran to grab both the remote and Tawna and run off.

"OY! You're goin' back in the directions of the prison cell holds!" Tawna cried.

"We have to free the others, including the innocent animals!" I cried, as I tried to see which button on the remote freed the collar. The letterings on the buttons were small and me running at the same time made it more impossible to see. I finally had to stop before finding the button to release the collar. Once it was gone, Tawna couldn't help but hug me.

"I'd say "My Hero", but that's so cliché." She smiled, then she eyed the prisons, "Alright, let's free 'em." We had to do it be force. Only dad had the key to free them last time I checked. So because of the dirt ground, rocks manage to do the trick. Repeat whacks on the lock manage to open up the cells. The animals and anthros immediately ran without a further thought. We tried to stop them, seeing as they probably didn't know the way out, but two bandicoots against an entire mob was hardly fair play. It took about halfway through freeing all the animals and anthros before my dad manage to catch up with us.

"YOU!" He cried. He took out something from his belt…a laser gun! He pointed it towards me, "HOW COULD YOU? MY OWN CHILD?"

"If you were any kind of father, you'd have stopped this madness years ago!" I cried, "And now, I have no choice but to rebel!"

"My son would never do this!" He cried, "NEVER! I HAVE…NO SON!" And he started to blast away, trigger happy. I immediately grabbed Tawna and made out on another exit. We had to get out. Along the way, we ran into a couple of anthros who seem to be lost.

"Hey! What do we do? How do we get out?" came a female anthro seagull.

"We're not going to make it downstairs in time, this castle is too huge and too long!" came a bear male anthro. The two were holding a few animals. It's amazing that these animals, the ones that can't talk seemed to trust us. I guess we have a connection to them as much as we do with humans.

"Hmm…the blimp!" I gasped, "We can take the blimp outta here!" Then I turned to the others.

"Get all the anthros and animals, find as many as you can and head for the blimp!" I cried, "Just keep going up!" Everyone nodded and ran.

"Tawna, you help them, too." I ordered, "I have to stop dad on my own."

"What? No way!" Tawna cried, almost as though she was offended, "I'm fightin' alongside ya, mate! Don't even attempt to argue back!"

"Tawna, this is a personal matter!" I shouted back, anxious to get a move on, "Please! If I don't survive, I want you and the others to!"

"You're crazy, mate!" She screamed, "I can fight! I ain't movin' a muscle!"

"I know you're a great fighter, but THIS. IS. PERSONAL." I wanted to make that very clear. Tawna, arms crossed, refuse to leave my side. I gotta give her props, she's very loyal. All I could do was smile.

"I'll be fine." I winked, "Wouldn't be fair for you if I died right away, eh? That's not how most stories goes." Tawna eyed me.

"After all, the hero always gets the babe." I grinned, "The HOT babe." Tawna couldn't help but laugh at that comment. With slight tears, she ran up to me and pressed her lips to mines. A bit shocked at first, but I eventually took in the kiss. After that great feeling, she winked back and ran with the other anthros.  
I just stood there with a goofy look before I finally got my act together and ran the other way to tried to find dad and the others. I vowed to return. No one should miss a kiss like that!

It was hell in here. I could hear my dad's mutated minions wrecking the entire place, possible searching for anthros and the animals, and of course, me. The entire castle was turning upside down. It got worse when I started to see smoke coming from the lab.  
I checked the lab and found no one…but Uncle Brio, back in his original form, but worse, he was hurt!

"Uncle Brio! You're hurt!" I cried. He was on the floor, bleeding on his head. What's worse was the entire place was starting to catch on fire.

"I-I'll be f-f-f-f-f-fine." He mumbled.

"Fine? Your head is bleeding and there's a fire! What happening?" I cried.

"I f-f-f-f-f-f-fought your father and Gin till the last ounce of my strength. I used fire…as a last resort…burn everything in this place or h-h-h-h-h-h-hopefully everything." He coughed, "Threw a highly f-f-f-flammable chemical to one of the gasoline based chemicals." Gasoline based chemicals? I don't understand scientists sometimes.

"Fire won't work! Dad'll just rebuild everything again!" I cried, tears once again coming down my eyes, "It's what he does! He's not going to change back! I know of that clearly now! There's nothing more I can do…nothing except fight back. My dad is no longer my dad as much as he's my enemy!" Uncle Brio stared at me with a sense of "you're crazy" look and acceptance of my life style change.

"You don't really mean that." Brio smiled, "Yes, you'll fight him, but you still want him back."

I didn't comment on that and instead concentrated on him.

"We've got to get you out of here." I wiped the tears away.

"No! I can get out myself fine! Don't w-w-w-w-w-w-worry about me!" He cried, "G-G-G-G-G-Get your father and Gin! They went down to the Main Hall!" I had no choice. Tried as I might to pull Brio up, he purposely struggled so that I would eventually give up and leave him be. I left Uncle Brio there and headed for the main hall where I did find my dad and Uncle Gin trying to escape out of the quickly spreading fire.

"DAD!" I cried. He turned around to face me as well as Uncle Gin.

"No more! This end NOW!" I cried, "I don't want to do this, but this has gone TOO far off!" We were far away from each other, but we glared and made fighting positions, only eyeing each other at the moment like so many showdowns in western flicks.

"Gin, get out." My father ordered him, "This fight is just between us both," He got the message and quickly made it down the stairs before the fire engulfed it. We were both surrounded by it.

"So…this is it." He snickered, "A battle ironically with my own child."

"Yea." That's all I said.

"Then…let's fight!" And fight we did. We both ran head first and we laid down our fists and kicks. Hardly ANYONE knows this, but despite my father's relatively short size, he's insanely skilled in karate and judo (I swear he probably knows some other form of martial arts), something he took as a self-defense late in his High School years from bullies back when he was in Japan (considering his brain size, he mastered most of the moves in but a few short years). I learned as much as I could from him, but yet to have mastered it fully. If I did loyally served my father, I would have. Be that as it may, I fought him as hard and best as I could. I tried my spin attacks which was unexpected for him, so I used that as an advantage. We were pretty evenly matched by the time we were both bleeding and bruising. Top that with the other blood losts and bruises I already possessed and I was a mess. The smoke on the fire was already beginning to suffocate us all and in mere minutes, we'd be dead. To me, I thought that would be fine. I'd be dead, but so would dad…he'd died with me. Father and son.

Of course, that was before the I saw someone coming in through the window. Tawna!

"CRASH! Come on! We gotta get outta here!" She grabbed my arm. The smoke made me too weak to protest and she and I both leaped, grabbing onto the rope that one of the anthros threw at us. Both of us were clinging on a rope while the anthros were trying to control the blimp…and doing a crappy job. I guess Dad must've seen me escape as he came to catch up with us...on his hover board. He wasn't aiming for me though; he went to the top of the blimp.

"What's he goin' to do?" Tawna gasped. I thought for a few seconds and I gasped. Oh, crap! I think he might try to pop this thing! So, I quickly started to climb the rope until I reached the balloon area where I carefully used my claws to climb my way to the top. I had to make sure I didn't pop anything. Once I reached the top, sure enough, he was ready to pop that baby open! Whew. This one is a long entry. I'll continue tomorrow, I need to rest my paw.

**Year 16, Day 262  
**It's hard to imagine that as if this writing, all these events I'm telling you now only happened a couple of months ago. It changed so much of my life. It's terrible that things had to end this way. Any who, I might as well continue and end this morbid tale.

We were both atop the blimp. I immediately tackled father before he could blow the blimp with his laser gun.

"YOU!" He cried, "DUMB…BANDICOOT!" I was holding onto him, trying to make him stop this madness. He kicked me on the chest and sent me flying back. We had yet another battle here, this time without the smokes and fire. No, this time, we had thousands of feet as our main obstacle. My father was enraged and he blasted that laser gun with seamlessly endless bullets or missiles or whatever laser guns have. I merely dodged them all before tackling him again. Endlessly the fight went. Already sunset was upon us. Our bloody feud continued as the blimp circled the castle, now in flames. We were both shaking, both angry, both bloodthirsty for more.

"I understand fully now…I know if you're still around, terrible things will happen. I don't want that to happen. There's nothing left for me to do…except…except this." I ran, charging towards my dad who only looked in shock and I slammed him off the blimp. He fell of his hover board and fell thousands of feet down. I didn't see if he landed, he grew too small by that point, but I was convinced…that he was dead.

"You'll never change…as long as I'm alive."

"Crash!" I turned around to see Tawna struggling to climb up. I helped her up and she gasped.

"Where's Cortex?"

"……..Gone." I softly spoke. Tawna immediately knew what I had done and only comforted me with a hug.

"He wouldn't change." I sniffed out, crying hard, "He wouldn't. He would never change…as long as I live." Tawna merely hugged me. The blimp seemed under control (perhaps they finally got the hang of it), and we started to head home. We made it safely to the first island with the blimp now destroyed. The animals and anthros one by one made their way home. Castle Cortex was a burning blaze. I manage to return to the orphanage where I made Tawna promise that she would never tell the little kids that I was the son of Cortex. She then left to find her sisters, who all didn't live too far from the orphanage.

As of this writing, I'm currently building my own home to live in. As I do, I write and think of my past…but ultimately, I think of dad. I believed him dead two months ago, but I doubt he is. I doubt it at all. I don't think I want him to die…unless he knows what he has become.  
**To Be Continued...**

……………………

**Author's Note:** I pretty much did the basic adaptation of the very first Crash Bandicoot game, but don't expect me to do this with all the others. I won't. More then likely, most of them will be short rundowns or whatnot. You'll understand what I'll do in later chapters as we actually get on with the video game plots. I also made one entry for Tawna mainly so we get the feel of what she's thinking and doing most of the time between Crash escaping and Crash rescuing her. Until then, enjoy this SUPER long chapter. Whew. As for Coco being in Hong Kong, I'm either indicating she's of Chinese descendent or she went there on vacation. I'll let you guys figure that out for the time being…

**Changes:**  
-More info on the relationship between Tobias and Coco.  
-More scenes with the baddies and her when Tawna speaks in first person.  
-More scenes and info on Cortex's current henchman.  
-A little more between Tawna and Crash.


	12. Heroes

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 12  
Heroes**

**Year 17, Day 145  
**Nearly a full year since I escaped from Cortex's castle. So much change has happened. I manage to build a house for myself. A small house located near the beach in a nice, jungle setting. Very peaceful and relaxing. Complete with a red roof, round door and windows, a garage, even a vegetable garden. Sleeping with the window open and hearing the ocean waves is generally peaceful. Oh, and that girl, Coco…well, I pretty much adopted her. What can I say? She grew on me. I found myself talking to her far more then the other orphans. Coco was more then happy to live with me. She's my little sister. Of course, we didn't avoid the orphanage. Both Coco and I go down there and help out whenever we can (not to mention she also wants to be there for her Tobias). Our work in the orphanage is voluntarily. Out small house is simple at best. We lived a rather simple life. Let me give you a run down:

**Electric Bills -** Now, we need to power up our TV and computer somehow, eh? Coco also has a laptop, too. And Internet service. Of course, we manage because…

**Job -** I have a job in a local pizza hut. A job most teenagers would usually get at. It's a fine job, but I'm looking for more higher paying ones. But so far, it actually pays the bills (I have a habit of saving money and spending little). A lot of people don't know, but I'm not much of a material person. Oh, sure, I'll sometimes waste money on an ungodly amount of video games, but I don't really have a lot I want. Perhaps it's a contrast on my rich and pampered life in Castle Cortex.

**Water Bill/Issues -** The water bill is considerably less then the electricity mainly because it's only for the toilet. That's it. We usually get water from the well we have on the front yard, and yes, that includes filling up the bath tub. Coco, despite her intelligent, tends to spend hers on the numerous gadgets she possesses. She's only 12, I don't blame her.

**Food -** Some of the money I have left is to buy food in the local grocery store (think Kwik-E-Mart). I mainly get my fruits from the various Wumpa trees surrounded around near our home and we grow our own vegetables. Sometimes I hunt for small critters to eat (been working on my hunting skills). Food is very little problem.

**Warmth -** This is little problem considering the weather is warm all around, but there are times when this place does snow when Fall and Winter arrives. We usually keep ourselves warm on the fireplace where we make hot cocoa and sit around and talk.

Our small house has a basic living room set, a kitchen and dining room table, our own rooms, one bathroom, and a basement.

In short, we're doing a bang up job of keeping alive and living out on our own. I've gotten progressively more carefree now that I am no longer inside Cortex's shoe. I felt like I was free from his clutches. That doesn't mean I still don't think about him. I do, but I felt for once, I could move on with my life. That doesn't, however, stop my fainting problems. I have to go to the local doctor every once in a while. He's baffled just as much as Cortex and the others on my condition. What's wrong with me?

As for my relationship with Cortex, Tawna is the only one to know outside of that twisted castle on my relationships with him. We though it best that no one else know, including Coco. It was best left as a secret and it seems during my many encounters with Cortex, he seem to have kept it a secret, too. Yes, I said encounters…

It was awkward at first, especially with the crystal he gave me. I fashioned it in a dog collar I bought at a store a while back and I wear it all the time for some reason. I'm doing better now.

…I just can't seem to let go off this crystal though. It's not just memories, but I sense a sort of…mystic vibe with this thing around my neck.

**Year 17, Day 333  
**As I'm writing this, I've had too much adventures. I won't bother describing the whole thing in details that'll fill up to make a freakin' novel. But so much has happened to me, I don't know where to begin. I guess I go in chronological order. The first big event happened only a short time after I defeated and killed Cortex; at least…that's what I thought. I had just finished building my home. I was out at night starring at Castle Cortex…I always do every night, rain, snow, it didn't matter. Coco always asked why, but I never gave her a straight answer. I couldn't. Any who, as I watched the ruined remains of the castle, this floating mask came out of nowhere and I mean NOWHERE and was now face to face to me. You know the first thing he said? "Hello." Then I freaked out and fell off the rock I was sitting on.

I manage to pull myself together seconds later and after shaking my head and blinking my eyes a good couple of times, I stared back at the floating mask and he back to me (although while my face was in shock, his was total calmness). About a foot tall complete with a face made of wood. Colorful feathers graced his head and despite his weird appearance, his calm face put me to ease.

"Um…hi?" I was unsure of myself if I should be speaking to a floating mask.

"Good Day, Crash Bandicoot."

"You…know my name?"

"Of course I do; I am a God after all." He nodded, "I am Aku Aku, defender of all that is good and holy."

"Oh…umm…hi…A God…so…as in you're immortal." My voice quivered. Is this all happening for real, I thought.

"Yes, I am. Although I haven't been a true God for a long time, but I am halfway responsible for creating this galaxy."

"You…created this galaxy and you're not a true God? Huh?"

"I used to be an all powerful entity, but due to an event long ago…most of my powers were stripped off, but I know my way around. My brother and I both created this galaxy since the beginning."

"Whoa." I gasped, "Christianity will go nuts if they found out their God was a floating mask."

"None of the religions you know are actually true…but they're not false. It's complicated and it's best if I told you another time."

"Yea…yea…" I stood up. "So, what's a powerful God doing here for me, a mere mortal?"

"Why, you are fighting evil, are you not?" I nodded and he continued, "My brother is the very opposite of me, a being filled with hatred and malice. He and Cortex are speaking as I speak."

That's when everything seem to have stopped around me.

"Cortex…he's…alive?" I gasped, barely able to swallow let along breath properly.

"Of course he is." Aku Aku nodded, "In your heart, you knew he wouldn't have died from that fall. Cortex is a survivor. Did you not want him to die?" My head was down, kind of embarrassed and ashamed, but I slowly nodded.

"Do you understand why I have come to help you?" I nodded. Aku joins my side, Aku's brother worked alongside Cortex, Cortex ties into me. A chain.

"We are both stripped of most of our Godly powers, but we are still immortal and possess powerful spells and powers. It is best not to underestimate either of us." I nodded, refusing to lift my head up. So, Cortex was alive, I thought. I knew it in the back of my head. I wanted him alive, but I know…whatever Cortex's plans were next, I had to stop him. Aku Aku was among the first in our little team of good guys. When I introduced Aku to Coco, she too freaked out. Heh.

**Year 17, Day 334  
**I had some small adventures here and there, but my next major one came when I met Cortex a full year later after I had defeated him. It was when Coco ordered me to fetch some batteries when her laptop blanked out.

"Why can't you do it?" I retorted, 'The house ain't far from here!"

"You've become lazy lately, big brother." Coco sighed, "Napping a lot more then you should."

"Only on my free time…which just so happens to be a lot of hours in a day."

"Just go get it! Tobias would have."

"Do I look like a boy band wannabe!"

"Tobias is NOT a boy band wannabe! He has a nice sense of fashion, unlike you! Always wearing nothing but pants and shoes…and Hawaiian T-shirts."

"HEY! Don't diss the Hawaiian shirts!"

The two of us stared for sometime before I finally gave in. I wanted to nap some more, so the quicker I get the battery, the more I can nap before going off to work.

As I traversed through the thick jungle woods I noticed yellow firefly looking things circling nearby me while a weird, surreal sound ringed in my ears. I honestly thought they were fireflies, but why would they glow in the middle of the day? As I came closer, I was suddenly teleported over to a place I had never been in my entire life. That wasn't what shocked me; it was who I met that did. Right there, in full holographic form stood the giant face of Cortex ala' the Wizard of Oz (no surprise, it was one of his favorite movies).

"Ahh, Crash, we meet once again. Forgive me for bringing you in this unusual matter, but I'd expect a written invitation would have been turned down."

"….You're alive." I spoke in a voice that felt slightly surprised, but at the same time, all too knowing he didn't die.

"Oh, Crash, you know me better then that. Any who, that's not why I brought you here." Cortex cleared his throat and there was a brief pause, "…I need your help." Another pause, except this one was longer. I was shocked. Did he just say he needed my help? Him! After ALL we've been through, suddenly he wants my help? There had to be a catch.

"E-Excuse me?" I stared at the giant Cortex hologram.

"Yes, you heard me right. I need your help." Cortex sighed, "Something is causing the planets to align, meaning potential danger to Earth. I'm still researching on it, but I'm 96 percent sure that this planet is in danger of being destroyed. I am in the process of creating a machine that can stop this disaster from happening, but I need you to help me."

"What? What do I do?" I pointed to myself with a cocky face, trying to prove I've changed enough to the point where he's appearance wouldn't bother me that greatly.

"You have a crystal, a mystical crystal that by now, is bound to you. The crystal and you are like one entity. One mind, one being. The crystal can also, however, point out to other magical crystals hidden in the world."

"There's more?"

"Yes, but I only need one." Cortex continued, "I already have another, but I need one more to charge up my machine and I know there are plenty of them around these islands alone. Unfortunately, I can't remember where some of them are. Your crystal can help, it can track the others."

"Why can't my crystal help your machine doohickey?" I pointed to the little glowing thing I wore around my neck.

"It's an awfully small one, Crash. Although that little thing is dangerously powerful, it doesn't have enough "oomph" to power up my machine." I was silent once again. Was he making crap up or what?

"I have seen the errors of my way, Crash…please help me." When he uttered those words, he spoke with such sincerity. He was calm and gentle…just like the old days when we were truly father and son. I thought hard for a moment, I mean, REALLY thought hard.

"…Alright, I'll help you." I smiled. Cortex lit up a bright face.

"Wonderful! Where you are right now are ancient warp rooms created so you can go to many different spots on these islands in a matter of seconds." So, those so-called fireflies were merely effects of the teleportation…well, that's the stupid theory I made up in like 2 seconds.

"Warp Rooms?" I repeated the name.

"Yes, there are said to be warp rooms in every part of this planet, but insanely well hidden." Cortex spoke, "It was of pure luck and coincidence that I actually found this set. Use them to get to other places on the island and find me a crystal. You best me moving, time is of the essence." Then he disappeared and I was left alone.

During my adventures, it seemed fit that Coco knew something was up. I didn't get her a battery in a long time. Turns out she actually manage to go to where Cortex was: A Space Station (during that point, I didn't know how she got there). There, she hacked into Cortex's computer and often spoke with me, mostly to not trust Cortex ("There's something kooky about him, big brother. Stay on your toes"). Aku Aku occasionally accompanied me, also telling me to not trust Cortex. The third person in this little story was a bit of shocker. He came in the form of a holograms as did Coco and Cortex did before him.

"Soooooooo, you're working for C-C-C-C-C-C-Cortex, aren't ya?"

"That would be Uncle Brio's voice." My back was turned when he spoke to me, so when I did turn, Uncle Brio's giant holographic mug showed up on screen. I was very surprised.

"Uncle Brio! You're alive! Isn't everybody alive today!"

"Yes, I am. I manage to escape the b-b-b-b-b-burning castle just fine." Brio started, "Of course, this isn't a welcoming t-t-t-t-t-t-treat, not as long as you're working for C-C-C-C-C-C-Cortex."

"What?"

"Cortex is lying to you! He plans to use that c-c-c-c-c-crystal for a more diabolical scheme!" Brio practically shouted, "If you give him that c-c-c-c-c-c-crystal, you are endangering this planet! You may be my godson, but I will do everything in my power to stop you!"

"Why would he lie to me?" I gasped. Boy, was I ever in huge denial at that point!

"Why wouldn't he?" He eyed me, "Look alive, Crash! Your love for your father has made you believe in his ridiculous s-s-s-s-s-s-story! Wake up and s-s-s-s-s-s-smell the daises!" Then he disappeared, leaving me stunned. First Coco, then Aku Aku, now Brio. All three of them telling me it's best not to trust Cortex, except with the first two, they were unsure. Uncle Brio's harsh attitude towards me was something I wasn't used to. He was never one to rebel or shout back much. When I was living with Cortex, he argued more with Uncle Gin then he did Uncle Brio. Was he right? Am I too obsessed with the fact that he was my father that I believed in his words?

Unsurprisingly, Cortex did plan to use that crystal for his own means. Once I did manage to find a nice one about a foot and a half, I was sent to his space station where I found out he captured both Coco and Uncle Brio. I had a choice: I either give him the crystal or my family gets sent into outer space to die. Right next to him were his next batch of crew:

**Komodo Joe and Moe**: Two bumbling brothers each with their own pros (Joe was smarter and quicker, Moe was…well, stronger) and cons (Moe is dumb, Joe is…not) which unfortunately retaliate with each other. Joe has a tendency to emphasize his "S" like a snake while Moe just sounds like a bumbling idiot.

"Crasssssssssssssssh, value your sssssssssssister and Brio's life and ssssssssssssspare we will do!"

"Uh…YEa! WhAt he SaiD!"

Yea.

**Tiny Tiger:** He was more of a threat then those two. Despite his name, he was a giant; literally 8-10 feet in height with muscles that would make Koala Kong cry tears of shame. Unfortunately for him, he was even dumber then Moe and had a very childish manner. He also enjoys speaking in first person.

"TINY crush Crash if Crash not give Crystal to Daddy Cortex!"

"I thought I told you to STOP calling me "Daddy!" He screamed, "I created you, that's all I did!"

"But Daddy Cortex loves TINY right?" He was near in tears, "Daddy Cortex tuck TINY in bed and read bedtime stories! TINY sleep like TINY count sheeps!"

Silence as Cortex and I stared at each other (I was trying to keep a straight face).

N. Gin was also nearby, getting in an attack stance as though he was about to fight me.

"That's it?" I shrugged, trying to keep a cool face, "That's all the henchman you have? Yea, powerful as they may be, they're only achievement is kidnapping a little girl and an old scientist?"

"Well, we would have had Ripper Roo, but he's busy studying and-HEY! SHUT UP!" Cortex shouted, then he pointed at me, "STOP WASTING TIME! Give me the crystal or it's BYE BYE Brio and…little girl."

"COCO!" She screamed.

"I DON'T CARE!"

"You're an ugly old man!" She snapped back. Cortex, laser gun now out went over to Coco. I, however, stopped him in time and pushed him harshly back. Cortex backed towards a wall and gestured his minions on me.

Moe was an easy victim to defeat. He kept tripping over his own damn cloak or others then he did trying to strike me with his sword. Joe was a tougher foe since he was pretty smart. Being quick, he easily dodged my spins, kicks, and punches. I barely made it alive when he's sword tried to slice me in two (I got away with a giant cut on my arm).

"Ssssssssssssssssstand sssssssssstill, you furry mongel!" He hissed.

"Uh…YEa! WhAt He SaID!"

Tiny, being a dumb idiot with a habit of being a crybaby didn't deteriorate the fact that he stilled kicked my ass.

"TINY SMUSH CRASH!"

"Okay, you! STOP IT with the stupid puns!" I pointed to Tiny as I constantly dodged his fists as they tried to slam down on me, instead hitting the computers surrounding us, "Seriously, just because my name is Crash doesn't mean you need to add "smush" or "crush" on every sentence that involves destroying me."

He proceeded to slam his fists down again as I leap out of the way.

"TINY! YOU IDIOT!" N. Gin cried, "You're destroying the computers! The space station's gonna fall!"

The rumblings and the shakes we felt was prove enough that we'd be dying anytime now as the space station slowly started to descend down to Earth.

The fight still went on until all three henchmen were unconscious, Cortex was my next target. The two of us gave an ever lasting glare all through the battle. What can I say? I was conflicted. He betrayed and lied to me. I was so upset. After the battle where I left after defeating Cortex (I left him unconscious, but with a heavy heart), Coco, Uncle Brio, and I manage to make it out alive as the space station crashed into the planet. Coco, Brio, and I took a space shuttle that the two built to get to the space station and manage to return home. Along the way, I was heart broken he would lie to me, but what more could I do then just fight back. It was conflicting, but I had to move on. It's a hard thing to do…

**Year 17, Day 335  
**We've had many adventures and stopped many of Cortex's plan. But his two biggest ones involved time traveling and unleashing elemental masks. The time traveling one was frustrating as Cortex and his minions traveled in different parts of the world's past (and future) and altered it so much, it was literally a chore trying to change it back the way it normally was. I don't really know why we couldn't just go back in time a bit further to undo the mistakes before it could even happen, but the machine we were using called the Time Twister could only give us a limited option to use time. The inventor of such a machine claimed he did it on purpose, saying in the end it wouldn't matter.

We went into a limited number of different time periods and thwarted his plans. We simply could have gone back a bit in the past to warn the people of Cortex's tyranny, but the machine seems to have set it so we go after Cortex took over. No amount of fixing it did the trick. What the hell was up with that? His minions weren't giving me an easy time either.

Aside from Tiny and N.Gin, I manage to meet the half dingo/half crocodile hybrid, Dingodile with a love for fire (carries a giant flamethrower) and a passion for Shakespeare plays. He also made lame fire puns.

"Break out the butta', I'm gonna make toast!" He spoke through his thick Australian accent (thicker then Tawna's, making it pretty damn hard to understand what the hell he's trying to say half the time). I ironically first encountered him in the Ice Age time period where he's flamethrower, while very warm, nearly BBQ-ed me.

" 'old still, mate!" He cried, "My soul burns for ya!"

"What?" I cried, "What the hell was that? "_My soul burns for ya!"_ WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?"

"It's suppose ta be another fire pun, mate!" He shouted as he blew another round of fireballs at me.

"NO! That wasn't a pun! That was you unknowingly trying to get freaky with me through speech…and trying to think of more insults, but ultimately failing by quoting something from a friggin' soap opera!"

Yea, it went on like that for a while. The other opponent was a more…mysterious individual to whom, to this day, I still don't understand who he truly is and what he's motive is. The inventor of the Time Twister: N. Tropy.

He's battle occurred when I was in the future. Let's make it plan clear, you need to have the fighting skills of a friggin' God to even damage Tropy. Considering he had the power of both time and magical powers of different elements (think of him as a black mage from a Final Fantasy game), plus the ability to fly, and all that other jazz, he clearly kicked my butt. Oh, and did I mention he's immortal? Yea, that kinda didn't help me either. As soon as I tried to hit him, he ends up being two steps ahead of me and beating the crap outta me. I assume he's ability to manipulate time has given him this unfair advantage. It's even more creepy in that he keeps a calm, almost trance-like face towards the entire battle topped with blue skin. It's like he's an undead.

What surprised me most, however, was him leaving me alive. It seemed this Tropy guy didn't work for either good or bad. I was right when I talked to him when we traveled to the future as he left me alive, barely, but alive. As he started to walk away, I asked him.

"Whoa! Hold it! OW!" I try to stand up as I spoke, but fell down on my knees, "Why…Why am I alive? Why didn't you…ugh…kill me?"

"Because I would have altered history, your very destiny if I did." Tropy calmly spoke as his cold eyes stared back at me.

"Wha-Are you a good guy?" I asked, "Don't you serve Cortex?"

"I don't serve anyone."

"What?"

"I'm not on anyone's side."

"Wha-"

"I do what I do. My life is my own. Time is delicate." He never made much sense, but I suppose these are his own experience from time traveling.

"As time passes, many different things will come to you and those close to you. The time when the Gods return will be at hand and when it does, a difference will be made. I have seen it…I could stop it, stop this tragedy from ever happening. As we gained something, we lose something. I could stop it…but it is not right to trifle so much on the power of time."

I had no clue what he meant and at this stage, I didn't care.

"What are you?" I gasped, "I can't defeat you."

"I'm immortal." He softly spoke, "Cursed with eternal life and youth, doom to remain far beyond the Earth's time." He sounded sad.

"So…you're some sorta God?"

"No. I'm not a God." He answered in a calm manner, "Just a time traveler. If I kill you, the future will not go the way it was meant to. Destiny will not be fulfilled. Everything is connected, everything is a balance." And he left me. This left me to ponder so many things. I'll talk more on it later, but right now, I have to finish this part of the story.

While time traveling, we also met Uka Uka, Aku's brother for the first time and damn, is he ugly! He was arrogant, rude, mean, aggressive, etc. All the signs of an evil mastermind. Aku and Uka had quite a lot of epic battling during this time. We manage to see quite a number of Aku and Uka's powers: Laser eyes, giant explosions, etc. It amazes me when Aku said he is not a true God. If these powers are any indication, I wonder what he'd be like as a true God?

But that Tropy guy…he just confuses me so much. Who was he? What was he?

He came to me again after Coco and I manage thwarted Cortex's plans to dominate the world through time. A simple, short message.

"You should be lucky to be alive, Crash." He stated, "He tried, but he couldn't kill you." Then he disappeared. What? Who's side is he on?

**Year 17, Day 336  
**After time traveling, the next major adventure involved Cortex unleashing the elementals. Technically, he got help from Uka Uka. He manage to summon the Elementals, creatures that once wrecked havoc on Earth many years ago. Like Aku and Uka, their powers have been stripped down, but that didn't stop them from trying to melt the polar ice caps, cause nearly every single volcano in the world to blow up, create massive earthquakes, and the likes. In the end, the Earth was lucky to make it out alive. But those masks weren't the ones that most threaten me. It was the person who combined with those Elementals that scarred me. He's name was Crunch.

Now, from what Cortex told me, Crunch was designed to best/equal me in every way.

"He may be big, but that's to add strength. He has your speed, your cleverness, your intelligence, he's everything you got, but I dare say he's better in everyway."

I didn't want to believe him. I thought he'd be like all the other mutants Cortex made, but he was different. For one, he really kicked my ass a couple of times and it didn't help that he had the powers of the elementals at his side. For another, he was created in a different way then the other mutated animals. To them, they were created by a normal animal. With Crunch, he was built from scratch, so Cortex had the chance to better work and manipulate him to his fitting. Despite his size and personality, he was every bit of me in strength and speed. Even he had good intelligence which most of Cortex's lackeys…well, lack. It was obvious Cortex gave great care when creating him. I was ticked off occasionally with him barging in, but our near final battle took the cake of pissing me off. It's not what he did, but more of what he said…

"How does it feel to meet someone of your equal in strength, speed, and intelligence?" Crunch started, speaking with a slight distinct New York accent.

"Yea, whatever." We were head to head in the middle of the jungles of the Amazons. Sounds exotic, don't it?

"You know, Cortex told me a lot about you, how you once lived alongside him. He told me how much he treasures me more then he does you though."

I was silent.

"It's no surprised. You betrayed Cortex!"

"You're helping out a twisted man who wants to destroy this world and refit it to his own image!"

"And why shouldn't he? He's offering the world paradise! I've seen this planet. I've seen its corruption, lies, evil, murder, it's all there! Cortex wants to better the world!"

"You sound like a retarded angst antihero! This is what he does! He manipulates! He'll turn this entire planet into his own cesspool of hatred and dictatorship and you're making it happen!"

"You're just jealous! You can't stand the fact that Cortex favors ME more then he does you! Face it; you lost all meaning in his eyes. To him, I am his son!"

"….NO! NO! NOOO!" I literally jumped up to him and slammed him to the ground. I was choking his neck.

"YOU LIAR! YOU'RE NOT HIS SON!" I cried, "HE'S MINE! MINE YOU HEAR ME! I WILL BE THE ONE IN THE END! Cortex is a MADDENING man, but in the end, I WILL be the one to send him free from this path! I WILL MAKE HIM HIMSELF AGAIN! EVEN IF I HAVE TO DIE IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN!" I had tears in my eyes as I obsessively decked him in the face repeatedly.

"Cortex treated me with kindness! You have NO idea what it's like to be created then born! NO IDEA!" He stood up, grabbed me by the neck, and flung me to the nearest tree. I immediately got up and went after him. I was PISSED OFF.

The fight went on until I was knocked unconscious after the numerous beatings I got. I let my emotions get in the way of my better judgment. All I saw was darkness and voices of Cortex when he and I were still a father/son pairings. When I woke up, I was surprised to find myself in a dark room. Despite little light, the full moon from the open window was enough for me to see I was in an oriental house. I was still staggering from pain, but was shocked to see bandages around me. I manage to walk over to the window where I saw brilliant lights of the city and neon signs galore. I was pretty dizzy, but I was pretty damn sure I was in Japan. I walked over to the front door and was immediately greeted by N. Gin.

"Tropy predicted you would wake up about now and seeing he's a time traveler, his guess is correct." The short man spoke, "Come, Cortex wishes to have a word with you."

"….He does, does he?" I nodded and followed Gin until we reached the main throne room where Cortex was, sitting on the emperor's throne, all decked out in a dark indigo kimono complete with a traditional emperor's hat, eating sushi from a fine dish held by Tiny (who's head was paying attention to the fires flickering on the wall). Silence fell between the two of us before I started the conversation.

"So…you've beaten me." I started, "What do you want to talk about?"

"The fact that you're still alive shows I've been very…well, tolerable of you."

"Hmph." I heard Tropy say. He was on a corner, arms crossed with a smug grin. That guy seems to appear at random times.

"Oh, hush up, Tropy!" Cortex embarrassingly said, "Well, Crash, first off, before I begin, welcome to Japan. Our nationality."

"Oh, good, I'll be sure to pick up some pocky on my way out." I joked.

"I spared your life you ungrateful teenager so as to give you yet another chance to join my side and do some serious damage!" Cortex cried, "I already have a castle, I was thinking of giving you this entire palace and the country of Japan for your next birthday."

"No thanks. I don't like or accept any of your offers." To hide how I really felt, I put up a grinning face.

"I HATE it when teenagers rebel!" He cried again, his entire yellow cheeks turning bright red, "I should ground you till the end of time!"

"Then go ahead! I'll never accept you the way you are!" This time I raised my voice, "Whatever we've been through, it's all just memories! I want you to change and I dream everyday that you will! I still have some lingering hopes you will, but that doesn't mean I won't stop you from your heinous ways! It's wrong! It's terrible! You won't change, no matter how much I believe it! You won't change…as long as I live, you won't!" I had tears in my eyes.

"I guess we have no choice but to kill him." N. Gin came to.

"…I…suppose so." I could sense Cortex's reluctance, "But it will be I who will kill him." There he was, walking towards me slowly, laser gun in hand, his face cold and distant. He stopped when he was a good few feet away from me and pointed that laser gun right to my head. Immediately I noticed he was sweating and shaking. He was hesitating. Cortex eyed Tropy who gave a stern face. I'm not so sure what that's about, but Cortex had trouble pulling the trigger.

"…Dad…" I barely whispered.

Before anything else happened, Coco and my friends manage to rescue me in time. At that point, as I recovered in a place where we hid, I took the time to analyze what I should do next. Crunch was built to be me in everyway, but he was still his own person. I realized he taunted me a lot concerning his very short relationship with Cortex. I then realized Crunch used my emotions against me. Crunch cared for Cortex as much as I did, I would do the same. I would tease and insult him with all the good times Cortex and I had together. It didn't shock me when it work and I ended up saving the world, but my heart was in such pain. Crunch did found out the errors of his way and trust me; it took quite a number of physical pain before he finally got it. He saw the beauty of the world being crushed and ripped apart by the Elementals, and he saw the evil in Cortex and helped me stop him. It took a few months, but Crunch joined our side, saying it would do more good if he did. He wanted to repent for his sins and we all welcomed him with open arms. Even I did, but for the first few weeks, I was reluctant around him. I'll continue more later, right now, I'm going to sleep.

**Year 17, Day 350  
**"Why does he do that?"

"Do what?"

"Stare out at Castle Cortex every freakin' night!"

"He always does that, Crunch." I replied, "I don't know why. He never really told me. I assume it's because he has a heated rivalry with Cortex. He has such a passion for him."

"Technically I'm only about one year old and half that time I spent with Cortex and he never told me much on Crash. He always told me Crash used to live and work for him, but has betrayed him. Coco…I think both Cortex and Crash is keeping something from us."

"I think so, too, but even if I ask hundreds of time with no answers, I just nod my head and leave." I sighed, "It's because I want to respect big brother. He took me in and gave me a home. Besides, we have to respect his thoughts. He might be upset or angry if he told us."

"Yea…I suppose." Crunch eyed the window where Crash was, sitting on that very same rock, starring at that very same castle, with the stars and moon shining down on him. It almost made me feel sad. My poor big brother, what's going on in your head?

**Year 18, Day 2  
**We just had a birthday party yesterday to celebrate my 18th year in this world. Yea, technically, I'm an adult, you could say. I feel old. Everyone who's been with me in past adventures were there: Coco, my girlfriend Tawna, Polar and Pura (the latter who came from Ancient China, likewise, I befriended a dinosaur while time traveling, but due to the fact that he was a dinosaur, we could not bring him to the future with us), Uncle Brio (who joined us after Cortex lied to me), Aku Aku, and newcomer Crunch. It was a wonderful party. All my worries and troubles left me. I got lots of great presents (A Gamecube, YES!), and the cake was great (gotta love chocolate). Coco was pretty strict about the wrapping paper.

"Open your presents gently, Crash!" She cried, "These wrapping papers could be used later!"

All in all, we had a good day. A good, peaceful day. By night time, we all obviously went to bed. Tawna and Crunch had their own homes while Polar and Pura stayed with me and my sister. Coco, she could sleep so easily, but I always thought a lot before falling asleep. Even though it was my birthday, I still had many thoughts as I laid in bed, shirtless with nothing but pajama pants, the bed sheet halfway on top of my torso, hands behind my head, eyes staring at a blue bi-plane model I made a while back hanging from the ceiling.

So many enemies, so little time. Cortex was obviously the one giving me a big headache, but the others were just as much as a pain in the ass. The one known as Dr. Nefarious Tropy was the biggest threat. Yes, the others had their own special merits: Pinstripe had deadly aim, Tiny is HUGE, Dingodile was fire crazed, Uka Uka is a God, but Tropy exceeded them in so many ways, maybe even my own father. I mean, I seriously can't kill this dude. Sure, Uka Uka is probably more powerful, but then again, I haven't seen him have the ability to manipulate time. Who knows what he could have done? Then again…is he even bad to begin with? He's immortal! Sure, he has all those metallic gears to protect him, but HE'S…IMMORTAL! It doesn't help that he's a time traveler as well. I don't know much of his life, I doubt anyone does, but he's power of time always made him two steps ahead of the others. Speaking of two steps, I could never get those words out of my head…what he said when I first battled him:

"_As time passes, many different things will come to you and those close to you. The time when the Gods return will be at hand and when it does, a difference will be made. I have seen it…I could stop it, stop this tragedy from ever happening. As we gained something, we lose something. I could stop it…but it is not right to trifle so much on the power of time."_

"_If I kill you, the future will not go the way it was meant to. Destiny will not be fulfilled. Everything is connected, everything is a balance."_

What did he mean? Is it a prophecy? Something he did see in the future? Did he say that merely to throw me off? What does he mean? The Gods? Tragedy? Difference? Gaining and losing? He mentioned a great deal about connection and destiny. I had no clue who's side Tropy was on and what he can truly do, but he was someone I knew I'd be listening to more closely. Something's going on and I intend to find out.  
**To Be Continued…**

…………………

**Author's Note:** It's titled "Heroes" because there is also a "Villain" on the next chapter that shows Cortex's side on the events that Crash explained. So some things you read here you might be confused until you read the villain side of the story. Oh, yea and Coco gets a short 1st person in here.

Crash sounds like he's nearly plum ready to loss his head from all that thinking and yelling, but I try to put some lighthearted moments here and there because I'm getting sick and tired of angst crap. It's a reason why I don't like characters like Shadow the Hedgehog.

**Changes:  
**-Crash/Coco sibling interaction  
-Info and descriptions on the villains of the Crash world  
-More info on Tropy, but not all that much. Heh.


	13. Villainy

**Experiment Bandicoot  
Chapter 13:  
Villainy**

**Year 17, Day 145  
**One year since my Crash left the castle, one year since he throttled my plans for world domination. Out of all the people to rebel me, it had to be him. Why? Why does the twisted fate of irony grasp onto me like an iron latch, never wanting to let me go? He…He was my son. I created him, although he doesn't know that.

I fell hundreds of feet down below, screaming, knowing full well that I would die. Oh, that irony again. I'm starting to HATE that word. As I fell, my castle, my blimp, and Crash got smaller and smaller, then total blackness. I honestly thought I was dead.

I opened my eyes and was filled with even more darkness.

"Am I in Hell?" I asked myself. Am I going to live the rest of my life tortured and burned in a lake of fire? I stood up into a sitting position. The darkness still remained. I searched around myself and remembered I had a pack of matches. I always carry them around incase I didn't have a flashlight handy. You wouldn't believe the amount of blackouts we've been having ever since I created Ripper Roo. I stroke one and saw myself not in hell, but in a cave of some sort. There were ancient writings and I was knee deep in water. Scary times, I would think, but these ancient carvings were familiar to me. Like the ones Papu Papu showed me long ago. Back when I still had a full set of hair and Crash still lived with me, my son. Ancient writings. Crystals…I suddenly remembered crystals. I pinched myself and I figured I was still alive. I'm not so sure how, but now was not the time to think of such matters. I was obsessed at where I was. Getting up, I explored further, going right of where I was (the left held a dead end). As I did, more ancient writings passed before my eyes. I had to keep striking new matches because the tunnel was just so endless. At times like these, I wish I had a camera to take pictures. I followed the tunnel until I came into a rather large, circular room. More ancient writings graced the wall, but I didn't need a match to see it. No, the light came from an object floating in the middle of this room, atop a small platform. A crystal.

Oh, how radiant and beautiful it was. Like the crystal I had before, the one I gave to Crash, this huge one had me drooling. It was nearly a foot and a half long, shining in all its glory. I slowly reached over to touch it. I was wearing gloves, but I felt the cold of the crystal. That didn't matter; I took it and cradled it like an infant. It was beautiful. This crystal was a powerful object, a tool I could use in my schemes of world domination. I held onto it like it was my life supply and was now on top of the platform where the crystal floated. It was then that I notice little yellow fireflies or something similar to that effect flying around me, not to mention a calm, yet surreal sound. I was soon warped away, teleported, you could say.

Next thing I knew I ended up in a Warp Room of some sort, an ancient one, one could say. Now I wondered if I entered heaven. One jump into said portal and I ended up in another part of the island. I went back in and tried another entrance and I ended up in another part, this time with snow. It was amazing! I could see my castle from here, although half of it is missing due to the fire. I can always rebuild. It didn't matter, I was too happy with the crystal in my hands for anything bad to keep me down.

**Year 17, Day 333  
**They were shocked to find out I was alive: N. Gin, Ripper Roo, Papu Papu, and Pinstripe that is. They only manage to move into a hotel in Citadel City after the castle burned before they would move on. It took me many questions to ask the local residences of Citadel City (as well as threatening to kill them if they didn't tell me) before I found out they were in there.

I manage to come in time, my clothes dirty and ripped. I had quite a number of bruises and cuts, but that crystal still stayed around my arm.

"Cortex, you're alive!" Gin cried out.

"But you fell…hundreds of feet, that is!" Papu muttered through a donut filled mouth.

"He ain't the real Cortex, he's an IMPOSTER!" Pinstripe cried, pointing his Tommy gun at me, "AINT YA? Doncha lie to us!" I groaned.

"Pinstripe…SHUT.UP." I spoke in a stern manner.

"Yep, that's definitely Cortex." Gin nodded, "Ripper, get that first aid kit in my bag, we gotta heal Cortex."

One bath and plenty of bandages later, I explained what happen to me.

"I don't know why I didn't die from my fall." I spoke in a rather soft manner, "But it must have been fate. This crystal…this crystal is KEY to my new plans for world domination!"

"What can this one puny crystal do though?" Koala Kong asked, "It's just…puny."

"The size doesn't matter, Koala. Even the smallest of these types of crystals carries an endless source of energy. We can use this for the next phase in my plans. But first, we must rebuild my castle, and then can we come about our plans for world domination." Everyone stared at me.

"By the way, where is Brio? I need to have a serious talk with that guy."

"He left." Gin answered.

"What, where did he go?" I asked.

"No clue, we checked the castle and didn't find his body, so he's alive, but where he is, we don't know."

"Hmm…well, if I ever run into him, he'll get his death wish for betraying me!" I growled.

Afterwards, we all slept in that hotel, except me. I was too excited…well, that and I swore I heard a voice in my head. A deep, almost hatred voice. With little sleep in my eyes, I made my way over to where that voice possibly could be. I wore my clothes and slowly made my way out. I wasn't so sure where I was going. My mind felt…blank. It's as if I was in some sort of trance, yet I was aware I was going somewhere. It didn't matter where, but I was going…somewhere. I manage to "snap out" when I saw myself face to face with a giant ancient totem head shaped like a crocodile of some sort. The mouth contained an opening. The voice boomed in my ears. After I cupped them, I slowly went inside where I was in another circular area full of mystical arts, like the one I saw back in that cave. In the center was a floating…well, something. It was covered in red fires and its entire body was covered in darkness (shadows, perhaps). The only thing I could really see was he's eyes, his yellow, glaring pupiless eyes.

"Who…who are you?" I trembled.

"I am the bringer of chaos and malice, the creator of ultimate darkness in this galaxy, I am Uka Uka."

"Uka…Uka?" I gasped, and I thought, what a stupid name.

"Yes, I am the God of Darkness. One who wants nothing but destruction and chaos in this happy crazed world." The gravely voice continued, "And you Cortex, shall help me."

"You know my name!" I gasped, "But of course…you are a God."

"Yes." He nodded.

"But…why do you need me?" I asked, "Why me out of all the other mortals?"

"As of my speaking, my brother Aku Aku, representative of all that is good is speaking with the one who thwarted your plan: Crash Bandicoot." I gasped at the mere mention of that name.

"You get the pattern, eh?"

"Yes, but you are a God, you can create destruction yourself." I mentioned, "Getting help from a mortal like me?"

"I am not a true God. It is a long story, one that shall be explained when time comes, so my powers are limited." Uka Uka spoke, "I cannot even get out of this place with my current powers alone. Aku imprisoned me here many years ago and I'm stuck here watching the world change through my mind. I manage to contact you because Aku has chosen Crash, someone you are close to."

"I…see." I nodded.

"That is why you are alive from that all. I made you survive." Uka Uka answered my question and I was shocked, "I need you to help me cause madness and evil into this galaxy. I cannot escape this place with my current powers, but you can help me take over this galaxy."

"Can I see what you look like?" I asked. Uka Uka did so by hovering closer to me. I was shocked to see myself talking to a floating tiki mask! Although I wondered if this was some disguise or something he is wearing. He said he is not a true God, maybe it's just a false form? Whatever the case was, Uka Uka officially entered into my life. I would trade plans for world domination and he to me; of course, I was gravely scared of him. He was ill tempered and powerful.

**Year 17, Day 334  
**My first plan that involved Crash happened to involve lying and trickery. I know very well on Crash's feelings towards me. He wishes me so much to change back, even if he said he has to get rid of me. I decided to use that to my own scheme. I would make up some cock and bull story of how the planets would align, causing Earth to be destroyed unless he brings me a crystal to power up the machine. I manage to have one already, but it wasn't enough for me to power up my new Cortex Vortex, a device that would enslave every single intelligent mind to obey me. I needed two and because Crash possesses a crystal himself (only a small one, hardly enough to power my machine), I had to make some shit that the Cortex Vortex was to stop the alignment of the planet.

I manage to find him via satellite camera. He was heading for a spot that would teleport him to the ancient warp room. It never worked before only because the ancient warp room has long since been abandoned. I manage to rework it after studying it long enough, so Crash ended up transported inside where I spoke with him via hologram…

"Ahh, Crash, we meet once again. Forgive me for bringing you in this matter, but I'd expect a written invitation would have been turned down."

"….You're alive." I heard him speak. Naturally, he sounded surprised, yet I could see in his face that he seemed happy I was alive.

"Oh, Crash, you know me better then that. Any who, that's not why I brought you here." I cleared my throat after making that little light comment. I took a brief pause before I continued, "…I need your help." Another pause took place. He was shocked. I bet you all, Crash is thinking if there was a catch to all this.

"E-Excuse me?" He eyed me as though something was on my face.

"Yes, you heard me right. I need your help." I sighed, "Something is causing the planets to align, meaning potential danger to Earth. I'm still researching on it, but I'm 96 precent sure that this planet is in danger of being destroyed. I am in the process of creating a machine that can stop this disaster from happening, but I need you to help me." What a load of cock and bull.

"…What do I do?" Crash asked.

"You have a crystal, a mystical crystal that by now, is bound to you. The crystal and yourself are like one entity. One mind, one being. The crystal can also, however, point out to other magical crystals hidden in the world."

"There's more?"

"Yes, but I only need one." I pointed out, "I already have another, but I need one more to charge up my machine and I know there are plenty of them around these islands alone. Unfortunately, I can't remember where some of them are. Your crystal can help, it can track the others."

""Why can't my crystal help your machine doohickey?" Crash asked.

"It's an awfully small one, Crash. Although that little thing is dangerously powerful, it doesn't have enough "oomph" to power up my machine." Another silence flew. I needed to convince Crash.

"I have seen the errors of my way, Crash…please help me." I spoke with as much sincere and honesty I could muster.

"…Alright, I'll help you." Bingo, I got him; hook, line, and sinker.

"Wonderful! Where you are right now are ancient warp rooms created so you can go to many different spots on these islands in a matter of seconds."

"Warp Rooms?" He repeated.

"Yes, there are said to be warp rooms in every part of this planet, but insanely well hidden." I spoke, "It was of pure luck and coincidence that I actually found this set. Use them to get to other places on the island and find me a crystal. You best me moving, time is of the essence." I connected out and sat on my seat. The window I watched was overlooking the Earth. Yes, my castle rebuilt and a space station I manage to make where I was finalizing my Cortex Vortex.

You would think a plan like this would go perfectly, but something always goes wrong. Namely, the one named Coco Bandicoot and my old friend, N. Brio. Apparently, Coco is Crash's sister. He must have adopted her. Whatever the case was, she somehow manage to sneak into my space station and have been using my holograms to contact with Crash. Smart girl, she was. She never went anywhere without her laptop. I did manage to catch her by the time Crash manage to get me a crystal. She was with Brio who somehow got in, too. By the time I spoke with Crash via hologram, Coco was shouting at the top of her lungs, struggling to deliver the message that he doesn't trust me. I gave him a choice: the crystal or Coco and Brio's death. After I left Crash to make his decision, Coco and Brio was placed in a jail ceil by some of my newer mutated creatures, namely the giant Tiny and the brotherly duo of the Komodo Brothers. There, I questioned them.

"How the HELL did you get into my space station?" I cried.

"Same way you came, we took a space shuttle." Coco spoke in a cocky manner.

"It's true, I checked every area of the space station, and I saw an extra space shuttle." Gin explained, "I assumed they either built one like we did or stole it."

"Hey, excuse me! I'm a genius, too!" Brio cried, "Although my expertise is on c-c-c-c-c-c-chemistry, my vast knowledge and Coco's m-m-m-m-m-mechanical skills manage to put together a small, but effective space shuttle!"

"How the hell did you two meet each other?" I cried.

"Mr. Brio came to me via AIM." Coco spoke, "During that time, I was wondering where my brother was as he was taking too long to get a battery. Then I noticed I got an e-mail, then he told me to come to AIM, then that's where I met Mr. Brio and he told me about how you. Mr. Cortex might be up to something, but wasn't quite sure what, but since I'm his sister, I thought I join and help and…"

"Holy Crap, you talk too much!" I cried, "How old are you!"

"I'm almost 13." She answered.

"Oh, a little preteen, figures." I sighed, "Girls who are preteens and teenagers talk too damn much."

"HEY!" She cried, "I resent that, you vertically challenged sicko!"

"I RESENT THAT!" I cried, "Wait a sec. Brio, how did you know what I was up to?"

"Oh, please, C-C-C-C-C-C-Cortex, I'm not dumb!" Brio sighed, "After I got word you were alive, I manage to d-d-d-d-d-d-d-do some s-s-s-s-s-s-s-spy work by sending a device I bought at a local s-s-s-s-s-s-s-spy shop to see what you were p-p-p-p-p-p-planning. Granted, I couldn't hear every thing you s-s-s-s-s-s-said because that device is a piece of c-c-c-c-c-c-crap, but I knew you were up to s-s-s-s-somthing! Further investigation in the space station proved you were up to n-n-n-n-n-no good!"

"Yea, up until then, we just kept reminding Crash to be on his toes." Coco smiled, looking proud of herself.

"Great, you two seem to enjoy telling your entire plan." I sighed, "And here I thought only baddies like me does that…any who, when Crash comes with the crystal, I have to kill you all, especially you Brio, the traitor."

"Hey! We're confident the world will be saved!" Coco cried.

"Cute." Then I walked out and spoke with N. Gin, "Since when did Citadel City have a spy shop?"

Of course the world DID get saved. He manage to kick my ass. I asked him to give me the crystal, but he didn't. He was devastated that I lied to him and with such a rage, he managed to hold me and my minions down and free his allies. We manage to have a final fight in space. In the end, my entire space station was destroyed (I admit, Tiny's idiocy was the main reason why the space station was about to crash land to Earth), crashing to the islands of Australia, landing on the temple where Uka Uka resided. My henchmen and I manage to escape via escape pod (actually, I was taken by Tiny; half conscious after Crash severely attacked me). How the good guys escaped, I'm not so sure, but we lost the crystals. Thankful though that we were alive to live and fight another day though. Messing with Crash's emotions was a dangerous thing, but I hope to somehow use that against him.

**Year 17, Day 335  
**Turns out that Space Station that crash landed on Uka Uka's imprisonment actually freed him! Who'd have thunk that all this time, we could have destroyed the entire place to free him? Perhaps it was because it was TOO simple that we'd never stop to do something of that sort. Clever. Either way, with him free, Crash has more problems to deal with. Uka Uka managed to get someone to help me with the next phase of plans: A Time Traveler named Dr. Nefarious Tropy. Uka Uka managed to bring him to the meeting room in my castle where we were expecting them.

"This is Dr. Nefarious Tropy, he will help us in our next plan." Uka introduced, "The floor is yours, Dr."

"OoH, yOU're A dOCtor, what kINd of DoctOR?" Moe raised his hands, "Do yOU fIx bOO-booS AnD sTUff?"

"BOO-BOOS! HAHAHHEHEHEHEHAHHA!" I swear I made a mistake creating Ripper Roo.

"Sssssssssshut up, brother, let him sssssssssspeak!" Joe growled.

"Like Uka said, I am Dr. Tropy, although my name is none of your concern." He continued, "I manage to make a time machine so you guys can do your time traveling business. Come, I will show you. BUT, you can only bring 5 people. Any more can cause the machine to short circuit."

I decided to bring N. Gin for his technically expertise, Tiny for his strength, Tropy himself for his knowledge in the time machine and time itself, and newcomer Dingodile which I made him a while back. The rest would watch over my castle until I returned. I'll be grateful if anything is left standing when I get back.

We were all teleported by Tropy to the time machine which looked like a modern Warp Room. Once we have landed, we notice we were in the middle of space, but we could breathe.

"There's an invisible barrier, so you won't have to worry about spacesuits." Tropy continued to speak, "Alright, listen well. The machine is pretty limited on where you are to go." Tropy explained the situation as we were face to face with a giant computer screen. He went over and showed us how the buttons worked, "Specific time, place, year, minutes, hours, it's all here. You're only given about 12 locations to choose. Choose wisely."

"I don't see why we're given such limited options." Gin cried out, "Not to mention limited amount of people! As a time traveler, you should be able to go anywhere in time, regardless of how many!"

"Time is a fragile thing, you imbecile." He sighed, "You can alter it in so many ways before screwing it up. One little incident can change the entire future as you know it."

"Are you sure you're on our side?" Gin asked.

"I'm not on anyone's side." He slowly and calmly replied.

"What?" Was what we all said.

"I do what I do. My life is my own. Time is delicate."

"As time passes, many different things will come to you and those close to you. The time when the Gods return will be at hand and when it does, a difference will be made. I have seen it…I could stop it, stop this tragedy from ever happening. As we gained something, we lose something. I could stop it…but it is not right to trifle so much on the power of time."

"What the 'ell are you talking about; ya sound like some retarded prophecy, mate!" Dingodile spoke, hissing.

"The reason I'm letting you mess with time is because everything is connected."

We didn't understand what he meant, but we didn't care. 12 was a good enough number, but we have to choose wisely. In the end, we manage to choose these:

1.) The Dinosaur Era (Try to build a civilization before the age of humans)  
2.) Roman times  
3.) Ancient China  
4.) Ancient Egypt  
5.) Persia  
6.) The late 1700's, a time where Pirates were often common  
7.) The 1950's (I've always liked that decade)  
8.) The 1930's  
9.) The Ice Age  
10.) The Medieval Times  
11.) The Future (just incase)  
12.) The Lost City of Atlantis

With the times set, we manage to go to each one in chronological order. We must've been cocky to think Crash would never foil our plans here, but we forgot he had a mask God, too. And as always, Crash and Coco was teleported to the Time Twister where they foiled every plan in every time period we went into. Curses! Dingodile, Tiny, and N. Gin are useless gnats! By the time we reached the future, Tropy was the only one left that didn't fight Crash, so I sent him to do just that. I saw the entire battle and needless to say, I was gravely pissed that Tropy left Crash to live. Tropy is an immortal being and although he is not a God, he has powers beyond anything I've ever seen, and yet he didn't kill Crash! When he came back to me, I asked him why he didn't kill him.

"If I killed him, the future will not go the way it was meant to. Destiny will not be fulfilled. Everything is connected, everything is a balance."

I was naturally confused by what he said. Was he just messing with my head or revealing something that could happen in the later future? I didn't care during that point in time; I just wanted to rule the galaxy. Of course, Crash and Coco foiled my plans again and the Time Twister ended up being destroyed. How infuriating! If only Tropy had killed Crash, then things would have been different, so back in Castle Cortex, I cried on that he should have been dead in his hands.

"If I did, the connection would be broken." Tropy repeated.

"I don't CARE for that ridiculous dogma!" I cried, "He should have been DEAD!"

"It wouldn't matter, you wouldn't have wanted him to die." Tropy spoke. I was pissed.

"What do you mean by THAT?" I'll gladly kill him!"

"Prove it. Go back in time when he is still a harmless child and kill him." Tropy suggested. Of course! Why didn't I think of it, go back in time to when he was still HARMLESS!

"If you can kill Crash, then I'll be surprised." Tropy had his back turned to me. I nodded and he sent me back when Crash was only 5 and I still had hair. I decided to kill him while he was sleeping, that way, my past self won't see myself. I entered the little bandicoot's room and not to my surprise was Crash himself, at the age of five, hugging his stuffed animal, and sleeping soundly. I took out my laser gun and aimed towards Crash's head. Slowly I waited and waited, but my finger refused to press the trigger. What the hell was wrong with me? Why couldn't I shoot him? Why couldn't I end his life so my plans for world domination would become complete? WHY? WHY? My arm was shaking as I held that gun, but I couldn't bare myself to shoot him! There he was, sleeping like a little angel. I lowered my gun down and wiped the sweats from my face. Down on my knees, I groaned a little before noticing that Crash was starting to cough. I heard my past self speak, so I hid. I saw my past self tending to Crash and cradling him.

"Do you have a cold, Hiroki?" My past self asked. "Hiroki"…that name…I had forgotten it. After my past self left with Past Crash to get some medicine, I was visited again by Tropy.

"Couldn't do it, could you?" Tropy grinned.

"Why couldn't I?" I muttered, "Why couldn't I kill him?"

"You'll know why." Tropy smiled slightly and sent me back to the current present, "After all, we can't all have another incident like Akio…"

He left me, but it wouldn't be the last time I would see him. Just who's side is he on!

**Year 17, Day 337  
**My next major plan for world dominations involved on my secret project I spent about a year making. He was to be equal to Crash in everyway, if not better. The project then was just called "Experiment Crunch". Crunch being a near similar name to Crash. N. Gin later suggested I change it to Clash as it's more similar, but at that point, I didn't care. He was difficult to make. Unlike the other mutated animals I have created, this creature was made entirely from scratch. No normal, average animal placed under the Evolv-O-Ray. Everything was from the beginning. It created far more difficulty and only N. Gin had any help on creating this, but even with him, I kept it a secret on what this creature was.

By the time we had another meeting (with Uka Uka dangerously pissed at us for failing to take over the world); I brought up "Experiment Crunch" which was near finished. He would match Crash in speed, strength, intelligence, and all that jazz. Uka Uka decided to up the ante by introducing the elements to make him an even more powerful power house. The conversation we had on that was quite an uplifting one:

"Yes, Experiment Crunch will match Crash in everyway! I programmed him so." I started, "I'm just about done. I just need to add in the proper elements before I'm complete."

"Elements…elements…OF COURSE! THE ELEMENTALS!" Uka's booming voice filled the lab room.

"The what?" My comrades and I grew confused.

"Long ago, my brother Aku Aku and I created the four Gods of the elements to shape the galaxy into what it is now. I created the elements of Fire and Earth while Aku created Wind and Water." Uka started, "Things didn't go well and they ended up defining both me and Aku and creating their own destruction. Pissed that they refuse to obey me (I didn't care they caused destruction, unlike Aku who did), we trapped them to the far corners of this galaxy."

"So, you're planning to use them to help Crunch who'll help us take over the world?" I asked. Uka nodded.

"They may not obey me and treat me like the Unholy God I am, but the least I could is try and strike a deal with them."

And he did and the four elements were in our team. Honestly, we thought we'd win this time. After all, four God masks (also stripped off their true powers from Uka and Aku themselves), created enough havoc to insanely end mankind alone. We only spared their lives if they pledge their alliances with us. Even with Crash on our tail, Crunch was more then a match for him. We already took over four continents: Asia, Europe, Africa, and Australia. It did feel quite unusual that I was sitting on the throne of the Japanese empire. I vowed never to return to Japan, but taking over it felt refreshing. Up until this point, my evil plans have never been shown to the outside public, but now that everyone knew who I was, I wondered if my parents and my sister would, too?

Everything felt so grand. This time I used Crash's emotions against him when I created Crunch. I treated him like he was my son and made him every bit of an equal to Crash. The goal was simple: Make Crash Bandicoot jealous. Get him so angry and green eyed (And I don't mean that literally, thank you very much) with envy that he'll lose proper concentration. It worked much more beautifully then I had expected.

"So, what do you want me to do with him?" Crunch asked me when he told me he had defeated Crash. He talked to me via hologram. I manage to see Crash's limp body, bleeding and bruised, like a rag doll that's been tossed and turned around by a killer whale.

"Bring him to my palace." That palace being the Emperor of Japan's palace, that is. The base of my operation for the time being when we took over nearly half the world. Crunch was a bit shocked that I wanted him alive and in truth, I was, too, no matter how much Tropy said I would never kill him. Crash rested in a nice bed in the palace, bandaged up and everything, and when he would wake up, I'd have a talk with him…

"So…you've beaten me." Crash started, "What do you want to talk about?"

"The fact that you're still alive shows I've been very…well, tolerable of you."

"Hmph." I heard Tropy say. He usually pops in and out of random, so while one minute he's here and the next he's gone, we've gotten to the point where we're used to his random occurrence.

"Oh, hush up, Tropy!" I turned my attention back to Crash, "Well, Crash, first off, before I begin, Welcome to Japan. Our nationality."

"Oh, good, I'll be sure to pick up some pocky on my way out." Crash sighed.

"I spared your life you ungrateful teenager so as to give you yet another chance to join my side and do some serious damage!" I cried, "I already have a castle, I was thinking of giving you this entire palace and the country of Japan for your next birthday."

"No thanks. I don't like or accept any of your offers." Crash spoke with such courage, he even had a grin on his face, despite how raggedy he was.

"I HATE it when teenagers rebel!" I cried, "I should ground you till the end of time!"

"Then go ahead! I'll never accept you the way you are!" He cried, "Whatever we've been through, it's all just memories! I want you to change and I dream everyday that you will! I still have some lingering hopes you will, but that doesn't mean I won't stop you from your heinous ways! It's wrong! It's terrible! You won't change, no matter how much I believe it! You won't change…as long as I live, you won't!"

"I guess we have no choice but to kill him." N. Gin pointed out.

"…I…suppose so." I sighed, then I took out my laser gun, "But it will be I who will kill him." I reluctantly walked over to the now tear induced Crash, wishing he would join my side. I stopped near him, pointed the gun towards him. I slowly eyed Tropy who gave me a look of disbelief, like I wouldn't shoot him like last time. Again, my hand shook violently; again the sweats fell down my face.

"…Dad…" I don't know if it was a voice in my head or if Crash himself said it, but I heard that word. It wasn't clear, it was more of a whisper, but I heard it.

Of course by that time, Coco and all the other goodie goods came to rescue Crash and rescue they did. Eventually they did stomp out my plans for world domination, particularly with Crash (being the clever boy that he is) who used my plans against Crunch. He made Crunch jealous and as a result, that lead to a chain reaction that caused the four masks to be imprisoned once again, our plans to be thwarted and us going back to Castle Cortex to hide from the people (we made the Most Wanted List), Crunch joining their side, and Crash slipping from my grasp once more. How exhausting.

**Year 17, Day 350  
**No new plans at the moment. I'm in the process of resting and thinking of other matters. Uka Uka has been gone for a while. He said he had business to attend to, so it's a bit quieter without the yelling and screaming…well, from him anyways. Ripper Roo is enough to literally raise the roof of this castle.

**Year 18, Day 2  
**Tropy's meaning of connection and destiny never left my head. I looked at the calendar and I suddenly remembered that that day was Crash's birthday. 18...the boy is emerging into a man. I stare at the stars every so often from the balcony located in my room. They're so innocent, yet get close to one and you could easily die from one. It's pretty ironic that out of all the days, it was this day that I entered Crash's room. Ever since he left, his room was left untouched. I locked the door and kept the only key that led to his room. No one was allowed in; every window in the house was sealed with the curtain closed. Nothing was touched. If I saw a trace of something even remotely poked at, they would face my wrath. My henchmen were unfortunately curious, but at the same time, respectful of my decisions.

I entered and sat on the edge of Crash's bed. There, I took the stuffed doll he always had, that elfin creature with blonde hair and blue eyes. The one he named "Jack" without the "C". He'd never go anywhere without it. I sighed and thought.

What did he mean?

"_As time passes, many different things will come to you and those close to you. The time when the Gods return will be at hand and when it does, a difference will be made. I have seen it…I could stop it, stop this tragedy from ever happening. As we gained something, we lose something. I could stop it…but it is not right to trifle so much on the power of time."_

"_Everything is connected, everything is a balance."_

I'm really starting to hate that man. Not on our side? Not on Crash's side? He is a time traveler, which all the more had me thinking he was already two steps ahead of us. Perhaps he knows a lot more then we're intended to. I'm still trying to wonder if theTime Twister he made and our entire traveling through time is all connected as he said. Damn it all to hell, this is confusing.  
**To be Continued…**

…………………

**Author's Notes:** AHHHHHHHHHH! This story killed me! Both chapter 12 and 13 because it's the same, but told through the eyes of Crash (Ch. 12) and Cortex (Ch. 13).From this point on, the story will get more complicated and possibly confusing. Some will be answered; some won't until my third fanfic on my Blue Curtain Trilogy. All in all, I had to make up a lot of story for Crash 2, Crash 3, and Crash: WOC, mainly because they don't have a huge story to begin with. Not to mention this fic is suppose to mainly focus heavily on Crash and Cortex, so henceforth, it did. This part mainly explains Cortex's side of the story and answers some question the good side never did as Crash probably wasn't there to tell.

I didn't bother putting in any racing games or party games as they are simply not exactly part of the main storyline. I didn't bother with Twinsanity either. The next chapters will eventually lead to the end of this story with an all new, original story like the first few chapters had before. Best to wait and see what I have planned.

**Changes:  
**-Changed some of the baddies speech to better fit their personality


	14. Change

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 14:  
****Change**

**Year X, Day X  
**If I had known this would be our last adventure, I'd have gone out with a big bang, but as usual, it was another time of fighting and insults. Crash and his little band of furries versus my army of mutant animals. As usual, it was the same deal as always. Good guys always win while we villains retreat and recover. Of course, there really wasn't a place to runaway from. The current fight took place in Castle Cortex, so we were, more or less, trapped in our own home. That didn't bother me or my crew; we just fought to the best of our ability. Our respective Mask Gods battling each other. It was…well…normal.

"You know, holding still might help while I try to kill you." I calmly spoke to Crash, laser gun in one hand, bomb on another.

"That's hardly a challenge, Corky." Crash shrugged. "Corky" has been a long favorite nickname to Crash and his crew lately, "The whole purpose in this battle is to not die…or get severely hurt." I shot towards him and he quickly dodged it. He came closer to me and quickly swiped my laser gun, breaking it into pieces with his paw. He just stared at me, looking smug, tongue sticking out as a sign of insult, giving a confident look while I gave a look of shock.

"Sorry I broke your fave toy." Crash laughed. Good God, he was laughing, as far as he was concerned, this was just a game, "But ya know, you gotta outgrow these things someday."

"Oh, I most definitely HATE it when teenagers get so cocky." I grumbled, backing away from Crash, "Don't you ever respect your elder which you haven't done for the past two years?" I immediately took out my back up laser gun, which was a much bigger weapon, nearly the size of my body. I finally got a good look at what I wanted to see on Crash's face: shock.

"Whoa, that's one HELL of a gun." Crash gasped, then he grew smug again, "Maybe you did outgrow that stupid toy after all." I immediately shot him, Crash dodging, but just by a hair.

"Crash, little less smart talk, a little more fighting!" Came the shrill voice of his kid sister, busying herself with wrestling Dingodile's flamethrower gun away from her.

"Well, we all need a good lightenin' up, mate." came Tawna, who's gotten much stronger then when I last saw her. She kicked away Komodo Moe who landed on Joe, "Besides, we all had a rough day."

"Tiny SMASH! Tiny CRASH! Tiny CLASH!" came that oh-so-idiotic walking front door.

"Yea, Tiny, we get it, you can rhyme!" Crunch cried as he started to wrestle with him.

"See, I told you, he never shuts up with the damn puns when it comes to my name." Crash shrugged.

"Dr. Cortex, we're losing AGAIN!" Gin shouted from nearby. He was busy lying on the ground, trying to push Brio away who seem to want to tear his head out. That traitor!

"I KNOW, GIN! I'm not BLIND!" I retorted. Soon, the heroes had gotten us ganged up…again

"This would be a really great for a secret weapon or secret plan, Cortex." Pinstripe mumbled, "…You DO have a secret plan or secret weapon, doncha?"

"Not at the moment." I whimpered.

"Why am I not surprised?" Pinstripe mumbled.

"Looks like the tables are turned! WAHOO!" Coco cheered. I remembered being annoyed with her optimistic, cheerleader voice.

I wasn't quite sure what they were going to do to us. Especially Crash. He wouldn't kill me, now would he? Although even I had my doubts. We slowly drifted apart and if Crash had killing me in mind, I suddenly didn't felt so surprised. Before they could come any further, both our Mask Gods started to act funny. Mostly the fact that they were glowing and screaming for a good 10 seconds. All of us stared in horror and shock before the two finally calmed down.

"Aku! You okay!" Crunch cried.

"What's wrong?" Crash gave his most stern voice ever.

"Uka Uka, what has happen?" I gasped, twiddling with my fingers in a nervous manner, hoping he wouldn't do anything rational.

Neither Aku or Uka spoke. The brothers merely starred at each other as if their pet goldfish died and one of them was responsible for letting it. The two briefly stared at us and flew off to the heavens. Meanwhile, all of us; the good and bad guys, just stared at the sky, wondering what the flaming hell just happen.

"………Umm…Maybe we should call it a night?" I quickly suggested. Crash stared at me like I was crazy, then half closed his eyes and sighed.

"Yea, whatever." And the heroes departed back home, leaving us alone in peace for the time being.

"So…Movie night, anyone?" Koala Kong suggested, "I got Monty Python and the Holy Grail."

**Year 18, Day 33  
**"So, Uka Uka and Aku Aku just left, just like that!" Coco was talking to Tobias, her boyfriend for about 3 years now. Once childhood friends, they began dating at the tender age of 11. Being the overprotective brother I can be, I kept a very close eye on both of them.

"No hanky panky!" I shouted every time Tobias (a dingo, in case you wanted to know) came over to visit. He had a very boy band-ish look with the slightly messy brown hair, violet rectangular shaped sunglasses, an olive hoodie, and loose khakis with dirty sneakers. I half expected him to come with a microphone and a tattoo every time he came.

"Well, this is turning out to be something really…interesting." Tobias smiled. He had a great personality. Very calm, very gentle. You could explain anything to him and he would never judge you harshly. Despite him being 15 as of this writing, he was insanely mature with decent morals. In fact, the only thing I did hate about him was that he was keen on my little sister, but that's just mostly my fault for being an overly obsessive overprotective brother.

The two were hardly apart. Tobias has come along in some of our adventures, but he mostly stuck being a helper to Ms. Roo's orphanage and being Coco's boyfriend. When he came over today, I manage to bake them some cookies, except the circular shape that usually took cookies were now distorted. I was being too overprotective to care what shape they were in. I then stood a fair distant away (they were in the living room, I was inside the kitchen, sitting on a chair, using the counter as my table) as the two spoke, pretending I was paying the bills.

"I just wish I could have gone on your adventures, Coco." Tobias smiled, "I hardly go anywhere when it comes to that. Everytime I do, Cortex always points at me and calls me "Bishonen Kid."

Coco giggled.

"I don't even know what that means." Tobias shrugged, "Okay! I'm going to make it clear! From now on, I'm going to come on adventures more frequently." A plate dropped when I heard that. My overprotective big brother sensors were off the chart. Coco, however, hugged him, glad he'd come more often on our adventures.

"Crash, take it easy." Tawna giggled, "They're still young. Leave them be." I mumbled as I fetched a broom.

"Crash, be careful." Coco gasped. I mumbled again.

I swear that poor girl was obsessed with him. If he wasn't busy wooing her, she was making scrapbooks of them together, listening to the remix tapes he made for her, and reading all the e-mails, letters, and text messages he sent. I was glad at this point that we didn't get a phone; she'd waste up the bill on that, too. Teenage girls. Tawna thought it was terribly cute.

"I think we really should double date with them." She would always say. I was mentally disturbed by that image. In my mind, I had half a mind to strangle Tobias into the shape of my distorted cookies. I think I'm being a bit obsessive in protecting Coco. She IS growing up.

**Year X, Day X  
**It was an unbelievable two months before Uka returned and I assumed Aku returned to Crash. During our two months of Mask God disappearance, my crew and Crash's posse have kept to ourselves. It's as if we were depending on the Mask Gods on when and where to battle. I guess we were both worried and confused on what happened. It was already a full month when my crew wanted to split and move on with their lives. Neither side seemed to be bothering each other. I told them to calm down and shut up, telling them Uka would return. A month and a half passed when Tiny manage to get the mail and dumped the whole thing on top of my eggs and sausages.

"TINY! I told you to stop doing that!" I cried, "Don't you ever remember!"

"Not really." Tiny shrugged.

"Insufferable mutant." I grumbled. I started to look through the mail. Lots of worthless junk and spam I had no need for. I merely tossed them over the floor. Ripper Roo usually picked them up and take them to his room. When I asked him why, he merely said, "Hobby." I was afraid to ask any further.

"Anything interesting, Cortex?" Koala Kong replied as he slowly lowered the morning newspaper Tiny also fetched (so it was a bit shredded), then he turned his attention back to the comics, "OOH! Family circus! I love these!"

"Family circus? That lame-ass comic?" Pinstripe groaned, "Its one strip, one giant circle of them doing…well, unfunny crap. Now Garfield is where it is. That cat takes shit from no one, my kinda guy!"

"Would you two shut up?" I cried, "Who cares about comic strips? They're just comic strips! Why can't you all grow up?" Silence.

"Besides, everybody knows the _Peanuts_ are the best comic strips ever." I slowly added as I continued to toss out the junk mail. Just when I thought these would be useless crap as it was most of the time, I manage to stumble upon a letter written for _"Matsuki Ichigoya"_ from _"Hanako Ichigoya". _I almost choked on my tea.

"Oh, my God." I whispered.

"What? "Gin asked. Then everyone else joined.

"What? What? What? What!"

"SHUT UP!" I cried, and then I stared at the envelope, light blue with a nice stamp of the current Japanese emperor, "…It's from my sister."

"YOu hAVe A sIStEr?" Moe asked, looking dumbfounded, which wasn't much different then what he normally expresses. I quickly opened the letter and started to read it.

"Awww, TINY no can read it! It all in gibberish!" Tiny cried.

"You can't even read basic English." I muttered, "Now go away, you're blocking my light."

"OOh! OoH!" Moe cried out as he starred at the letter, "Is It iN ChInESe? I knOw It's ChINEse! it's defIniTEly ChINEse! Or MAybE sOMe sOrt oF ASIaN lANguAGe, liKe…ChInESe?"

"It's Japanese, you twits!" I cried, "You ALL know I'm Japanese! So it makes it pretty damn obvious my sister is Japanese!"

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, your sister could be adopted or maybe your mom or dad was Chinese or…" I glared at Pinstripe who made that theory. He immediately became quiet and I continued to read. I was lucky, nobody in this castle could read Japanese. After I had finished, I was in shock.

"Oh. My God." I whispered.

"What? What? What? What?"

"SHUT UP!" I cried, "Good GOD! I must've been HORRIBLY drunk when I made you all!" They all stared at me wondering what the deal is with the letter and not on how horribly pissed I was.

"It's a letter from my sister…she's…coming over." They all stared at me like they were confused.

"…Today…." Again with the staring.

"…Here…in this castle…" Stare.

"…….Right now…" Stare.

"….Period." Then they all raised a commotion. I just wanted to kill myself right now at this time.

**Year X, Day X  
**The letter was pretty basic and simple (translated in English by _moi_):

"_Dearest Older Brother,_

_Many years have passed since we have last seen each other. I have thought_

_of you many times and of our past memories together. It has been too long._

_We are no longer children now and are adults. I think it is time I have to come_

_and visit you. I wish to show you a surprise, a sort of present for you for being_

_A kind and caring brother. I wish you would have come to Japan. My father made_

_me head of his company. Mother is also doing well. I hope you have heard of that_

_incident that happened in Japan. A being known as "Neo Cortex" once took over Japan _

_and ruined the entire world. We would have died if it wasn't for that "Crash"_

_person. We are doing fine and that "Cortex" person has disappeared. I have heard you_

_owned a castle below Australia. I will be coming over soon with my surprise._

_I wish to see you soon, my brother."_

_-Hanako_

She didn't know I was Neo Cortex. She wasn't aware at all. That was one problem that was fixed, but unfortunately it filled me with bitter sadness that I would have to lie to the only family member besides Crash that I actually gave a damn about. I wanted all the mutated henchmen to leave incase they would scare her, but they wished to stay. I gave in and told everyone to call me, "Mr. Ichigoya." Tiny and Moe had the most difficult time saying it and Ripper enjoyed saying it too much. It was now always, "ICHIGOYA! ICHIGOYA!" every time he saw me.

"Shame you have to lie to your sister like that, Cortex." Gin shook his head.

"Oh, shut up." I mumbled, "It's for her own good. No reason why I should involve my sister in the affairs of Neo Cortex. It'll only lead to disaster."

She came late at night and everyone was just thrilled to meet her. When she and I met, well…we practically cried in each other's arms as we hugged and shouted cries of _"I miss you!"_ in Japanese. Everyone just stared. She was no longer that young girl I knew, but as much as she was in her late 30's, she still looked youthful. Her hair was tied in a bun, but her violet eyes and warm smile still stayed. She was obviously taller (as well as taller then me), too. Although she was still only a small 5'3 in height, which was normal for Asian women, really. We Asian men aren't that tall either. When she came in, she wore a brown coat that Pinstripe immediately helped her out with. Underneath it was a white turtleneck sweater and a knee length black skirt.

"My friends, this is my little sister (And NO recurring short jokes about me compare to my sister), Hanako, Hanako, my friends." I introduced.

"Oh, you have unique friends." She spoke in the best English she could, "So, these are "Anthros". I love animals."

"Come, come, sit." I gestured as I grabbed her hand and took her to the nearest couch.

"Oh, but I must show you surprise. Present." She motioned.

"You can show it to me later, right now, let's chat and tell me what you've been up to." I motioned.

"Oh, but I must show it now." She insisted.

"Well, alright, if you must." I cleared my throat, "It couldn't be anything remotely interesting as yo-" I immediately stopped when I saw what my so-called present was: A girl.

"This is my daughter, Minako." She smiled, "Her English name is Nina." Everyone stared. I was mostly in shock. SHE was my present! I had a niece?

"Whoa, Corte-I mean, Mr. Ichigoya, you have a niece." Pinstripe gasped.

"I have a niece." I repeated, "I have a niece." She was rather…unique in appearance. A black school girl uniform with matching shoes and white socks, a seriously huge over bite, black hair, and most interestingly, pale skin. She was a fitting definitional of "goth".

"Nina, this is your Uncle Matsuki."

"…Hi." She mumbled slowly and quietly.

"…Hello." I sheepishly waved.

**Year 18, Day 42  
**Coco cheered as she received another letter from Tobias. She hungrily read it, finished it, and squealed like she won tickets to her favorite singer.

"Why the hell do you two even send letters at each other when the orphanage is a short 15 minute walk!" I scoffed, "Ya know, trees are dying because you're doing something completely pointless." Coco stuck her tongue out at me.

"Hey, I'm worried about him!" Coco scoffed back, "He's my boyfriend!"

"It's pointless." I repeated as I rolled my eyes and continued trying to finish a Zelda game on my Game Boy.

"Playing video games is pointless." Coco retorted back, "Yea, I admit playing some games are fun, but I don't make a hobby of playing it for a gazillion hours!"

"Shut up." I mumbled.

"Don't you ever get dizzy looking at the screen?"

"No." With that said, I did start to feel dizzy. It was when Coco left to go back to her room that I fainted again.

**Year X, Day X  
**The two months were nearly up when Hanako and Nina still stayed. She and Nina were used to the other's company. They, in return, treated her with respect, like she was their mother. Then again, the apple wasn't far from the tree: She entertained Tiny and Moe with children's story of Japanese folklores, did the chores and dishes (even after I insisted that she was a guest and that she should rest), wiped Ripper Roo's face when he got food all over, and then some. It shocked me even more to find Gin falling head over heels for her.

"Your sister…she's the greatest." Gin sighed.

"What th-Back off! She's my sister!" I cried like the overprotective brother I was.

Hanako and I have chatted for quite some time over the weeks. My sister was head of my father's company. She married a man our parents forced her on and had Nina. Her husband unfortunately divorced out of difficulty (it was a sort of arranged marriage and they had little in common), so he left. Hanako, in secret from her parent's knowledge also practices as a Shaman for a Shinto temple. Hanako always had a fascination for that sort of thing since she was little and she always told me she felt connected to the spirits, like they were telling her something.

Her daughter, Nina grew up as best as she could, but from what Hanako was telling me, she was having trouble.

"She is a good girl with some high morals, but she is having difficulty in school." Hanako sighed, "Her head is always up in the clouds. A reason I have brought her to you is because you are very smart. I was wondering if she can stay with you until her school grades are better."

"Me? You…you want me to spend time with my niece?" I gasped. If I kept her, she'll know of my entire "Neo Cortex" thing.

"Please, she is only 14." Hanako begged, "She is still young and must be nurtured with education and other members of the family." My sister stared at me in the eyes and I sighed.

"But we haven't met for years, how do you know I'm still the same reliable brother I am now?" I asked.

"You certainly made quite a nice living for one thing, dear brother." Hanako gently smiled, "The spirits have told me Nina is best with you. I trust them and I trust you, older brother."

I never truly believed in ghosts and spirits, but with seeing Uka Uka hovering over me over the years I've known him, it was hard to decline her offer, besides, it was my sister! I didn't give her a proper answer, instead, I said and I quote; "Give me time to think, will ya?"

Nina was a strange and unique girl. Her pale skin came in the same form of skin disease that caused me to have yellow skin. I guess it runs in the family. I also learned Nina was a clever individual, as evident this one time when I caught her snooping in my room.

"Nina! What are you doing here! "I cried, "You know better then to sneak up on someone's room, let alone your own uncle!"

"I got curious…you feel rather...suspicious." Nina muttered, "So I did some snooping…found your little secret."

"……What little secret?" I gulped. She held up some files I had of plans of World domination.

"Never realized my own uncle was the nefarious "Neo Cortex." She grinned, "Ain't that a kick in the pants?"

"You're not going to tell your mother, now are you?" I asked.

"I don't think I really have to." She shrugged, coming close to me. She was a rather small height for her age (only a small 4'11), but she was still taller then me and in doing so, stared down at me, "My mother can speak with spirits, they never stirred her wrong…she probably already knows."

"Cock and Bull." I muttered, "Look, she must not know I am "Neo Cortex." I do not want her involved! I care for her too much to. In fact, I'm beginning to have doubts on watching over you. Your mother entrusted me with you to educate you better and lead a good life."

"Mm-hmm." Nina spoke in an uninterested matter as she flipped through the plans I had. I quickly took the files from her.

"This is a great concern! Your mother is not evil and neither should you be!" I cried.

"I don't believe in that crap." Nina yawned.

"Don't believe in what?" I gasped.

"Evil." Nina muttered, "Just words. There's no good or evil, I don't really think they exist, really. Maybe I've been influenced by mom too much. Dad always thought I was some weirdo…one of the reasons why he left us."

"This isn't some things you Goths ponder about, is it?"

"It's not just us Goths, dear Uncle." Nina sighed, obviously offended, "Even the head football player in school sits down to think of life and our purpose in the world. They have their beliefs, I have mines."

Her little speech made me change my mind. She obviously didn't care for my world dominations nor did she probably cared if Crash tried to stop it. I decided to keep her. I felt the need to learn something by watching her…

**X Year, X Day  
**We took her to the airport. As Hanako started to leave, exchanges of good-byes and presents were plentiful. Gin practically begged her to stay and gave her his e-mail address and phone number. I proceeded to smack him. She merely smiled a little and said her final farewell to Nina.

"Be good to your uncle and above all, trust in your heart." Hanako softly spoke, then she turned to me and spoke in a near whisper so only I could hear, "My dear brother, be careful. Watch out for someone of your past coming back to haunt you and the one you love more then you do me." She smiled warmly and left. As her airplane flew away in minutes, I sat on a chair and pondered Hanako's words.

"Impossible." I muttered, "I never told her about Crash."

"She's a Shaman, she knows a lot more then she lets on, Cortex." Tropy's voice rang inside my head. I nearly had a heart attack when I heard his voice and notice how close he was to me.

Once we reached back home, we were even more shocked to see Uka Uka waiting for us.

"Uka Uka! Where were you?" I gasped, "Are you okay?"

"Yes…I must tell you all something, come…sit." He was unusually soft spoken, but we all sat. The floating mask eyed Nina.

"Oh, my niece." I weakly smiled, "Nina…umm…Uka Uka."

"Yo." She calmly spoke as though she's seen floating masks before.

"What do you wish to chat about, O fiery one?" Gin asked, obviously poking a little fun with the name he created for him.

"The Apocalypse."

**To Be Continued…**

………………

**Author's Notes (IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ TO THOSE CURIOUS OF MY ABSENCE):**

**1.) **I best explain this first. First off, I apologize for the EXTREME lateness of this story. Unfortunately, my computer and the internet decided they wanted to screw with me long enough to piss me off by not working (2 WHOLE MONTHS!), so I couldn't be online for a freakishly long time.

I notice some were quite upset that I left without saying anything, but I couldn't really find another computer to tell why I wasn't here. Yea, you're upset, but I can't help it. I'm no comp expert, so the next thing I don't do anything for a long time, it's my computer's fault. PLEASE try to contain yourself until I return the next time my computer does something stupid.

**2.)** Second, if you guys haven't noticed, I have **reedited ALL the previous "Experiment Bandicoot" chapters,** fixing grammar errors, adding new scenes, and changing some minor things around. So things such as different speeches for characters (like Tawna having an Australian accent for one), among others. It's not a necessary read as I didn't change much that would alter anything story wise, but if you must, then go ahead.

**3.)** Thirdly, I better explain this one before I receive more angry comments. Namely, why I didn't do Crash Twinsanity adaptation in here. Not doing adaptations of racings and party games was pretty reasonable, and GBA ones I didn't do since I currently don't own any sort of handheld. The reason CT was left is mainly because this story has been in works since before Twinsanity's time. I didn't feel the need to change it around to fit it in. It'll only be such a hassle, nothing to mention some of CT's storyline don't fit well with mines, but it's the first reason mostly of why CT is not adapted. But the one thing I decided to use from Twinsanity is the introduction of Nina. While Twinsanity has hinted near the end (THIS IS A BIG SPOILER) on Cortex's true relationship with Nina as her being his possible daughter, she just reminds being a niece here. I mainly did it simply because Crash, being Cortex's son, already has enough siblings as it is, a dead brother and an adopted sister. Not to mention this is a spotlight on Cortex and Crash and their odd father/son relationship. The others are merely more or less obstacles and challenges they pass throughout their lives.

Oh, and for those who don't remember, Tobias has appeared before in the story. Check in earlier chapters.


	15. Mission

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 15:  
****Mission**

**Year 18, Day 65  
**"Th-The Apocalypse?" I gasped, standing up from the sofa I was sitting on.

"As in…End of the World?" Coco put it in simpler terms.

"Yes." Aku Aku spoke, as if the End of the World was a daily thing that happens in his life.

"Oh? You mean it's happened before?" Crunch asked. Aku nodded, "Daaaaamn."

"It's hard to explain." Aku Aku sighed, "We are in our false form. When we had true forms many years back, Uka Uka and I started off great, combining both good and evil as one, a balance."

All of us stared with wide eyes in our living room. Coco and I took up the sofa, Tawna on an armchair, while Crunch remained standing. Brio took comfort on the floor.

"We started to disagree and chaos erupted. So, we were given false forms by a more powerful God."

"A more powerful God?" Coco gasped, "How powerful? Who is he…or she?"

"No body knows, some say this God who reduced our power was the one who created the entire spans of the universe. Some say he is everywhere while others note he is in the center of the universe."

"Funky." I retorted.

"Yes…err…"funky". Aku Aku reluctantly repeated my choice of words, 'The point is, Uka and I have received words that two months ago, we would have a chance to redeem our powers. Our true powers."

"So…the part where you both screamed is part of the message you received?" I cleared my throat.

"Yes."

"Uh…..Huh." I scratched the back of my head, then muttered under my breath, "Must've been a painful message."

"One of us must get our true power back or the End of the World is at hand." Aku gasped, "Oceans, lakes, and rivers will be a sea of fire, living beings will be turned into statues or tortured, their eyes pecked by crows repeatedly, force to walk through fire and diseased carcasses, the sky would be a bright red, the sun would shine brighter then ever, burning our backs, and-"

"Okay, we get it, we're basically asking for Hell if we don't do something." I gasped, "Not really all that sure if that qualifies as world ending as much as it means eternal damnation."

"The world is scheduled to end by the time the tortures and eternal damnation has commenced and that can lead from anywhere to a few days to thousands of years."

"I'm more curious on how the hell they plan to end the world." Crunch muttered.

"They can do anything, unleash all the volcanoes of the world, simply blow it up, etc." Aku Aku made quite a disturbing list.

"They?" Coco came in, "Who is "they?"

"Gods more powerful then I." Aku spoke, his entire face was filled with shock, "I, too will be part of the torture as well as Uka Uka. We must do something so that I may get the power and fill this place with peace and goodness."

"Well, we better find this place before Uka's team does, mates." Tawna sighed.

"Uka has to be there." Aku sighed, "We have to both go in and see who is worthy or the world will end." Aku sighed. We all gave a "What!" Aku just nodded.

"Okay, let's just c-c-c-c-c-c-c-concentrate on getting there first." Brio sighed. We all agreed on that one.

"Well, what are we waitin' for? We better skedaddle." Tawna quickly rose up from the arm chair she was sitting on, and then proceeded to punching her hand, "I'm ready."

"Well, the point now is where is this place to retrieve your true powers?" Crunch also stood.

"The center of this planet." Aku Aku pointed out.

"Center, as in between America and Africa, between Asia or America, or between North Pole and South Pole or…" Tawna started to make a list.

"Not sure." Aku interrupted.

"Not sure?" Coco gasped, "What do you mean "not sure?" How can we be sure!"

"Coco, relax." I touched her shoulder, "Breath in, breath out."

"Oh, ha-ha!" She sarcastically retorted as I smiled.

"Crash's crystal can help us." Aku smiled, "The crystal came from the Earth and has great connections with it. And Crash's connection to the crystal means Crash will be the one to lead us to the center of the Earth."

"Great." I sighed, not really all that optimistic (I'm so bad with directions sometimes), "But if I get us lost, don't blame me. Blame the crystal."

"We won't get lost." Aku gently laughed, "Once we reach the center of the planet, a portal will take us to where Uka and I will have to challenge ourselves."

"A portal." I repeated.

**Year 18, Day 66  
**"So…you're leaving on a big mission to save the world, eh?"

"Yea."

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know."

"Not certain…I see."

"Oh, I wish I knew, Tobias, I truly do."

"Hey, that's cool, Coco."

"You'll at least write to me, right?"

"Even better, I'm gonna come with ya!"

"What?"

"Yea, I said I would go on more adventures with ya and this sounds like the biggest one yet!"

"Tobias…it could be dangerous."

"So? As long as I'm with you, I can accomplish anything."

"Hehehehehehe."

"Don't giggle. I know it's corny, but I'm serious!"

"Okay, okay. Fine. You can go."

Coco gently kissed Tobias.

"HEY! Break it off, you two!" I cried from a distance, shouting from living room window. I was busy making sure we packed everything and didn't leave anything on before we left, "No freakin' way my 14 year old sister is gonna end up pregnant anytime soon!"

"We're just kissing, Crash!" Coco cried, still smiling, "Besides, who gave you permission to peek through an open window?"

"An overprotective brother." I muttered as I shook my head, arms crossed.

Tobias quickly got up and kissed her again.

"I'll be here first thing tomorrow morning, love." Then he ran off.

"Kids." I muttered.

"Oh, please, we had our days like that." Tawna spoke from nearby, "We should really consider double datin' with them."

"Double date with you and my little sister and Kissy McSmooch-a-lot! There's a Kodak moment I want." I sarcastically sighed.

"Well, don't be surprised if the two end up married. They've known each other for such a long time." Tawna smiled softly, peeking out the open window like I was, hands on her chin, "They really do care for each other. How come we don't feel this close?"

"Because I'm not 14." I answered, smiling. Then I gave Tawna a quick kiss.

"You said good-bye to your sisters?" Tawna nodded.

**Year 18, Day 69  
**It started when I was sleeping the night before we left. I heard a whisper. Not a friendly one, nor was it from a dream. I woke up when I heard it. One single world: _Kill. _

I woke up, startled, like I just had a nightmare and moved my head around, looking around the room. I breathed a sigh of relief to see no one was there.

"_Kill…"_

I gasped. Again, I looked around the room, getting out of my bed. I didn't wanted to create too much of a fuss and wake up Coco. I instead stood near my bed, looked around some more, and then closed my eyes. That voice sounded like a little child whispering. When I opened it, my pupils felt so tiny from fear. I saw a small little boy with jet black hair and pale skin ever, staring back at me. He had donned a blue kimono which matched the blue and black night sky. I quickly closed my eyes and rubbed them, opened them, and saw he was gone. I was standing up, gasping for air. Suddenly, it felt so cold and the room around me started to spin. I fainted again.

……………………

We manage to pack everything we needed: money, food, first aid, ropes and climbing material, jackets, the likes. Taking a well deserved rest, we all reunited in my living room the next morning. There, it was just Coco and I. We were waiting for Tawna, Crunch, and Brio to arrive. Coco was expecting Tobias. She told me he was coming in the last minute so I couldn't argue back in time for him to leave or anything. Our animal pals Polar and Pura has decided to stay and watch the house from intruders.

We all grew up. I was maturing a lot more. I don't wear knee length blue jeans with a shirt or no shirt anymore. When we were getting ready, I had on matching blue and black T-shirt and khakis, a blue sash surrounding my hips and waist, black boots, and round, dark sunglasses. I even changed my hair style a little. Tawna best describes it best as, "A mix of bangs." Coco, too had her image changed. From innocent overalls to a blue shirt that showed her belly and a bit of her chest (She and I had a rough fight when I caught her wearing that on the first day, being overprotective and all) and long sleeves that extended as it went down to her hands like an Asian wear, and matching blue jeans. She still kept those pink shoes, but her hair (while still ridiculously long), was now into two long ponytails. Ya know, like Sailor Moon (not like I watch that show or anything, she's just easily recognizable….ehehehehe). But she IS growing up. She's 14, a teenager, she has teenage needs: boys, shopping, puberty, love (I shudder on that one), among others. Damn…I don't think my puberty was that extreme.

"Coco, we're going to save the world, not go on an extended vacation." I told her when I eyed her with three bags.

"Hey, half of these are my computer supplies, these will come in great handy!" She countered. I merely sighed in a frustrated manner.

Tawna and Crunch came next with their own bag. Tawna sported a white tank top, leather brown gloves, knee length khaki pants, and light brown boots. She looked…well, like a fighter. Crunch, meanwhile, sported the army look, which came to no surprise since he recently decided to join the army during this time, so he was decked out in a tight black T-shirt complete with army pants, black boots, and silver dog tags.

"Coco, why do you have so many bags?" Crunch pointed, "We're going to save-"

"Oh, shut up." Coco mumbled. Tawna giggled and locked her hands around mines.

Tobias came next with his boy band look and calm demeanors. He had one backpack with him.

"It's basically got the necessary items I need." He gestured as he showed off what he stored inside. Coco sighed and locked her arms around him.

"Oh, Tobias, you're such a well prepared person."

I rolled my eyes.

Brio came last, sporting a long, green lab coat with dark black boots. He's bag looked way too big for him as he was toddling as best as he could, but could hardly catch up. We had to help him out.

Now that everyone was gathered, Aku came right on cue.

"Are you ready, my children?" His gentle voice spoke to us. We all mumbled our agreement, then Coco came in with a most excellent question. "Most excellent?" Geez, I sound like a professor of Oxford university or something.

"Is there a reason why you don't know where the portal is?" She asked, "I mean, you're a God…well, half-God, I thought you'd know."

"Nope." Aku smiled, "Perhaps it's some sort of test the Gods above are giving to me: try and find a way to the portal on our own."

"Which would be my crystal." I pointed to the little glowing rock which I wore as a necklace for today (either that or I store it in my pocket).

"Well, ask it." Tawna gestured. I nodded and did so. The crystal glowed a bit more then it originally did when I wore it around my neck and it did something. It lifted itself up and pointed. We all stared at the direction it was pointing to.

"Umm…okay." Crunch scratched his head, "What do we do?"

"I guess…we follow it." I answered. Everyone nodded in agreement and we headed down out path.

"I think I should have p-p-p-p-p-packed more peanut butter and jelly s-s-s-s-s-s-sandwiches." Brio mumbled.

I never mentioned the fact that I saw some sort of ghost boy last night. I didn't think it would matter with our main mission. Not part of it at all, all just some weird nightmare…

**Year 18, Day 135  
**"So, you're after the portal, too?" Cortex cried. We ran into him in the middle of Africa, in the middle of a desert. His black airship, the Nicodemus, landed while we just ran out of gas on the jeep we rented for the desert. So far, the crystal took us from Australia to China to Russia to parts of Europe, and finally, to Africa.

"Yes, we are!" I cried, "Nothing is going to stop us, end of story. Come on, let's get outta here." We started to walk our way now that our jeep at that point decided to quit on us.

"We've been following you and we're going to keep following you." Cortex sighed, "I know you're using the crystal, Crash. It's pretty damn obvious." I stopped walking and the rest followed my example. He's outfit, too has changed over the years. Numerous beatings from my team has caused him to not only don a white lab coat, but a light, silver armor covering about half his body (such as his chest, shoulder, etc.) to soften the blow when he got hit. He's been upgrading his arsenal of guns as well. Of course, he's not dumb.

"What's your point, old man?" I asked, rather annoyed and hot from the sun.

"Point is, we're both going to find the portal, but either way, it's not up to us to see who is made a true God again, but Aku and Uka themselves. We stopped our airship ride because your jeep broke down. We thought we'd give you a lift. Both our Gods have be their in the same time. No help if one group is delayed from the other group." Aku and Uka weren't anywhere in sight when we were arguing. They disappear often to give us reports on what we needed to do and possibly where to go.

"….You have a point." I muttered in defeat, "So, you want teamwork?"

"Might work." Cortex spoke in a sincere matter, "Just until one of our Mask Gods receive said powers, then it's back to kicking each other's ass."

"Yea." I nodded, then pondered for a few seconds before speaking, "Fine, we're going together. Acts of betrayal or anything of that sort means automatically disband. I won't hesitate to kill anyone if I have to if someone steps over the line."

"The same goes over to you." Cortex pointed. We shook hands while our respective team watched in shock.

"Umm…But we can't disband, remember?" Tobias popped in, "Masks has to be in the same place at the same ti-"

"OH, SHUT UP!" Both Cortex and I shouted.

"Well, don't just stand there, get in the damn airship." Cortex pointed to it. With a nod, we hitched a ride on the Nicodemus. We were a reluctant team. I saw Cortex's crew already giving him a hard time.

"Trusting the enemy like that!"

"You're unpredictable sometimes, Cortex!"

"He'll turn his back on us!"

"You idiots! He has the crystal to help seek the location!" Cortex retorted back as I watched all this from afar, "We can't do anything about it. Uka and Aku are the only ones who can. We're just simply tag-a-longs!" I gave that smug grin again and when into the room the enemies gave to me and my team. Coco was already there with a worried look.

"Sis, you're staying with Tawna." I sighed.

"Crash, this is crazy." Coco muttered, "I know you have some sort of connection with Cortex, but letting the enemy team up with us?"

"Both Aku and Uka must be there." I told her, "One goes without the other and it's bye-bye planet."

"I know, but I feel a sense of uneasiness." Coco nodded, "But you have a point. Besides, I believe in Aku, he'll win! He's good, no way a God or whoever will choose some evil flaming mask."

"We'll worry about that when we get there, Coco."

"Well, I trust you, big brother." Coco smiled softly, "You may be a doofus sometimes, but I know you're cleverer then people give you credit for."

"Mmhmm." I laid down on my bed and took out a GBA, playing Super Mario Bros. 3, "Now excuse me, I got to beat World 7."

"You doofus." Coco laughed. I really liked my sister's laughter. I hope she keeps laughing. It's just a trait that I honestly can't see leaving her.

"Oh, Coco, you're such a character." I sighed, "Top definition of cuteness."

"Is that bad?" She sighed.

"Nah." I shook my head, "I can't imagine you anything but cute and optimistic." I lowered my game boy and eyed Coco sincerely.

"It's a trait that I hope stays for the rest of your life." I softly spoke.

"Well, I don't see anything that would stop me from acting the way I am." Coco smiled. I nodded slowly and she left, saying she wants to be with Tobias. This time, I let her be. Funny how Tobias doesn't fit the description of Coco's perfect boyfriend (which she told me a few years ago):

"Long, flowing hair, preferably blonde, big, blue eyes, strong and built body, ooh, and he has to be Prince Charming…as in he has to be royalty and charming! He has to be witty, clever, fun, and artistic, of course. Charm me with his poetry or stories or something that involves writing. He also needs to be rugged, but not like mustache or beard rugged, eww. Maybe a goatee?"

I merely smiled and said, "Kid, you'll think a bit more differently when you get older." When I look at Coco now, I don't really see that changing anytime soon. Maybe it's just me.

**Year 18, Day 144  
**Our alliance wasn't exactly cakes and sunshines. Each team stared at each other with blood shot eyes, ready to tackle and bite like a bunch of hyenas. It took constant reminding of Uka and Aku's problems that usually calm them down a few minutes before the glare and insults flew again. Even Cortex and I had our fair share.

"Oh, Crash, you dim-witted stupidly annoying teenager, please pass the syrup for my pancakes." Cortex angelically spoke except for the insults which he sounded off in a more demonic manner.

"Sure, no problem, you vertically challenged, big headed, freaky ass old man." I muttered, sliding the syrup. This soon turned into a daily thing. While we remind calm on the fist-a-cuffs, the insults reign free in our list of things to do to our enemies. In a way, it felt relaxing to all of us holding up the pent up anger we had against them. The two who really didn't join the barrage of insults were Tropy (who randomly pops out of nowhere, as is his style), and newcomer Nina, who enjoys being as silent as Tropy when she has to be or as obnoxiously opinionated like Cortex when she has to be. The main question I had is who on Earth was she?

I went over to Cortex who had just made tea.

"So, who's the kid?" I asked, pointing to Nina who wasn't too far off. She was sitting on a luxurious armchair, writing something down. I sat down on a chair opposite off the dinner table Cortex was sitting on (this airship had everything). Cortex, silently got an extra teacup and poured me some cup.

"Thanks." I took a sip as Cortex sat himself.

"She's my niece." Cortex answered one night.

"Huh? Niece?" I gasped, spilling bits of tea on the floor and table.

"Yes, I have a sister…I assume I never told you based on your reaction." Cortex pondered.

"I have an aunt? And a cousin!" I gasped, "…………Damn."

"Wouldn't Coco be surprised that she has more family members?" Cortex had his hands to his hips.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't told anyone sans Tawna that I'm your son."

"Still haven't?" Cortex smirked, "My dear boy, it has to be unleashed sometime soon."

"…..I know." I softly whispered, "So…Nina…looks rather unique."

"I know, I was surprised when that little girl showed up at my door as well." Cortex sighed, "She's _is_ a unique child, my own problems with her is the little we seem to have common?"

"Maybe you should do the sensible thing and ask, big head." I sighed, staring at Coco who was making her way to Nina. She told me earlier she would try and speak with her ("She's my age, so a friendship thing sounds more then appropriate.")

"Hi, I'm Coco." She started, "I heard your name is Nina and your Cortex's niece from one of the minions. Wow…and here I thought Cortex was just a lonely, bitter man…well, family wise." Cortex muttered something, offended.

"Yo." Nina softly spoke.

"Umm…So…umm…you got nice boots." Coco meekly started.

"Thanks." Nina spoke in a soft, energy less voice.

"Yea, better then my shoes." Coco stared at the pink sneakers she was wearing, "Umm…Do you do anything interesting? I go on the internet a lot."

"I write." Nina spoke, "I write whatever I'm feeling."

"Ooh, as in like a poem?" Coco gasped. Nina shrugged, "Yea, I guess."

"I'd love to hear one." Coco giggled, "I have some poetry I did also!"

"I guess." Then Nina reached into her backpack, pulled out a notebook, and started to read her poetry.

"Good God!" Cortex gasped, "Weeks of having that girl live with me and in mere minutes, Coco already knows more about her then I do!"

"Maybe talking with her helps, old man." I sighed, repeating myself.

"I try, but I don't think she's too interested in me." Cortex mumbled, "She's very complicated and hard to crack."

"Then learn about her, piece by piece." I suggested, "She'll eventually take a liking on you."

**Year X, Day X  
**So I spoke with her little by little. The very first few days, she remained the same as usual. I decided to take more interest in her life and hobbies.

"So…I heard from Coco that you like poetry." I smiled weakly.

"Sure, yea." She spoke in an uninterested matter.

"Perhaps you would be so kind to share some with your dear old uncle?" I asked, sweat pouring down a little.

"I…suppose." Nina dug deep inside her backpack and pulled out a violet notebook. She started to read.

"_Oh, how my life feels tender and ripped._

_I ask myself why I'm unique. _

_A gift that feels like a curse, given by fate unknown._

_An outcast among outcast. Friends I have little of._

_Should I just start digging up my own grave and put an end to my misery?_

_I wonder, is there a gleaming light in all this?_

_Please, tell me, spirits, and maybe I'll feel indebted to Mother Earth._

_A withering flowers cries out for an angel's arm._

_Make me part of one, not split."_

A brief silence fell before I cleared my throat and spoke, "I see. I guess your poetry is trying to tell you that you're…well…hating the fact that you're unique because people reject you. I guess I understand why you're doing so poor in your schoolwork. After all, emotions and feelings affect everyday life."

"…Yea, I guess." Nina had her eyes wide open now, staring at me like I was some miraculous discovery.

"Personally, everyone has the right to be unique." I cleared my throat, "I mean, people don't like me because I'm unique at what I do…which is making mutated anthros and trying to rule the world, but that's just me."

"Yea…but it's hard." Nina sighed.

"I know it is, but if everyone in the world were the same, life would be insanely boring and meaningless." I smiled softly, "You must be yourself. In the end, it is you who decides how you'll end up."

"Wow…you're not all that boring as I thought to be." Nina smiled, "You give pretty good advices."

"I'm old, Nina." I sighed, "I've been through just as much happiness as I have with pain." Nina smiled.

**Year 18, Day 150  
**I manage to watch Nina and Cortex have that little conversation from afar. It made me a bit jealous that they shared a father/daughter bond. Although I thought a lot during that time. Perhaps fate has brought Nina to the world for Cortex to have someone to love as a father would, someone who doesn't want to, overall, protest against what he does. Perhaps I was fated to leave him and become mortal enemies. I didn't think long. We were nearing the North Pole, so Cortex's cronies were fast joking about Santa and his elves. I was lying down on my bunk, pondering. I wasn't aware I had dozed off when I hear it again…

"_Don't you want to die? I will end it…"_

I sat up immediately and saw the small ghost boy again, staring back at me. I gasped.

"What th-who are you?" I spoke in a whisper.

"_Stay away from him…he's mine…"_

"What?" I cried, backing out as far as possible as I could from the child.

"_Come closer…to die…take breath…soulless…_

"Look, I don't know who the hell you think you are, but GET AWAY!" I screamed, "You're just some…nightmare! It must've been that scary movie I watched!"

"_I hate you…"_

"Go Away…GO AWAY…GO AWAY!" After I yelled, I felt the airship rumble. I fell off my bunk and crashed on the wall on the other side. I noticed the creepy kid was gone and everyone was yelling in a panic. I was racing to the main piloting room and saw everyone in a craze. The airship was caught in a snowstorm.

"What do we do?" Gin cried as the alarm inside the ship started to go off.

"We have to l-l-l-l-l-l-land!" Brio cried out. He then grabbed one of the steering wheels and started to maneuver through the thick snow. Gin grabbed the other one and the two tried hard to steer away. We soon felt a nasty bump.

"What the hell was that?" Crunch cried out.

"The tail hasssssssss been hit!" cried Komodo Joe who spoke through a communicator screen.

"By what!" I shouted.

"Maybe by that thing!" Tawna pointed outside the giant window where Gin and Brio continued to drive safely. What we saw was a dark figure with wings. It was hard to make out what it was with all the snow, but more came and started to rip the airship inside out.

"Tawna, Coco, Crunch, let's move!" I ordered, "Brio, keep on stirring!"

"Aye-Yi, C-C-C-C-C-Captain!" Brio saluted.

"I'm coming, too!" Cortex ran after us.

"Yo! Wait for me!" Tobias shouted.

Donning winter coats, we were all outside the outside deck of the airship where we got a better view of those creatures.

"They look a bit like a demonic, black dragons of some sort." Coco gasped.

"Either way, they're going down!" And I launched myself to the nearest one. They came closer and within range, so both Coco and Tawna made with their fighting skills. Crunch used his strength and started to fling them over. Cortex shot them with his big gun. Tobias managed to stand on his own with a few punches and kicks of his own. We were horribly outnumbered.

"Ahh! They're all over me!" Crunch screamed. A huge ROAR was heard and Tiny knocked some of the creatures off of Crunch. The two smirked at each other and started to fight together. Dingodile and his great aim burninated those dark creatures while Pinstripe manage to get mulitple hits with his fast Tommy gun. Papu Papu and Koala Kong fancied belly flops; Ripper Roo ricocheted off of the creatures with his powerful legs. I noticed all of them were backing each other up.

Even Tropy, who again, appeared out of nowhere, showered the dark creatures with his magic. Elements of ice, thunder, fire, whatever he had, spewed out of Tropy.

It was basically war down here. Even Nina came to help with some basic punches, but she had a little trouble…when she was hanging from the ridges of the deck. If she let go, she'd died from the fall.

"Uncle Cortex!" Nina screamed.

"NINA!" Cortex ran like a road runner, quickly grabbing Nina before her hand lost grip, "It's okay, I won't let you go!" Easier said then done. Those creatures started to pummel Cortex. I quickly manage to come over and tackle them and continued to do so as more came. Eventually, I helped Cortex pull Nina to safety. The battle ended when the airship made a harsh, but safe landing. The dark demonic dragons flew off at this time and the snowstorm became a gentle snowfall.

"Oh, Nina, are you hurt?"

"No…I'm fine." She sighed, "I'll live. A bit traumatized, but hey, I guess I'll have to get used to it."

"It's adventure, kiddo." I smiled as I got off the deck and onto the deep snow that reached up to my knees, "Guess I need snowshoes."

"Thanks…for…umm…saving my life and all." Crunch spoke to Tiny who smiled and blushed.

"Is no problem. Crunch would have done same for TINY."

"Good kicks, kid." Dingodile complimented Coco.

"Hey, I'm thankful you're such a good aimer!" Coco smiled, "You should open up your own gun shop or something."

"I think Pinstripe should do the same, he didn't do so bad either." Tawna patted the potoroo's back.

"Well, that does sound like mighty good and honest livin'." Pinstripe pondered.

"Kid, you're getting better." I winked at Tobias, "Maybe you are right for my sis after all." Tobias grinned.

"See?" he then spoke, "I told you I'm not such a bad guy."

"It's just my overprotective brotherly nature, is all."

"Crash!" Cortex shouted from the top of the deck, "Let's go back inside and think of a plan!"

"Yea, sure."

Inside, we all tended to our wounds. Compliments were given, insults leaving the window.

"Driving the Nicodemus together…like old times." Gin sighed towards Brio.

"L-L-L-L-L-L-Like old times." Brio smiled back to Gin.

"Break it up, you two." I muttered, "We got plans to think."

"The ship is pretty damaged, so it'll take a few days to fix." Gin spoke.

"So, what do we do, wait?" Cortex asked.

"I guess so." Gin shrugged.

"I don't think we have to." Everyone stared at me when I spoke. I showed them my crystal which was glowing brighter then ever and pointing north, "I think we're closer to the portal then we think."

**To Be Continued…**

………………

**Author's Notes: **In case you're confused, whenever you hear Cortex speak, he's telling the story after the events of this adventure, about a couple of years later. Crash tells the story before the final confrontation that'll take place.


	16. Journey

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 16:  
****Journey**

**Year X, Day X  
**When the airship crashed and seemingly unknown days needed to fix it, a few handfuls of us decide to go and find the portal. We were also treated in the ship's clinic from the injuries we received from those beastly dragon-like creatures. Some injuries more serious then others, although I doubt any one of us would die. I was merely getting an ace bandage wrapped around my head while I had an iced bag on my knee when Brio came in.

"Yes?"

"N-N-N-Nina wishes to see you." Brio pointed to one of the doors leading to a different room in the clinic. Walking with a bruised knee which caused me to stagger a bit, I manage to reach the door and enter where Nina's back was turned towards me.

"Nina, are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." She softly muttered, her head a little low. Her voice showed a sign of sadness.

"What's wrong?"

"When we were fighting, my hands…they were…hurt." Nina spoke, "Really hurt…I didn't wanted to tell you on the deck."

"What's wrong with your hands?"

Nina slowly turned to face me and revealed her hands. For a minute, I thought her gloves were ripped and torn so her being upset was due to her ripped gloves. Before I could usher her that losing her gloves are nothing of importance at that point, I then notice those black gloves weren't gloves at all…they were her hands.

"Oh. My God." I could barely contain myself. Her hands were scorched!

"My hands hurt so bad, but I never knew it was worse when I took my gloves off in the clinic." Nina shuddered, "Look at them! What do I do?"

"Nina…" I placed a hand on her shoulder while she continued to shudder, "We'll…we'll think of someway to fix this…in the meantime, you can cry if you want."

"I don't want to cry." Nina came off a bit stronger, "I want you to fix it."

"I will, but I need to think about how-"

"No, I want my hands to be better then regular normal, human hands." Nina interrupted. I was intrigued as well as curious.

"I saw Mr. Gin, half his face is metal." Nina started, then a brief silence fell before she eyed me in a serious, yet hopeful manner, "……..Uncle Cortex…I want my hands to be metal…like N. Gin."

…………………

**Year 18, Day 155  
**"So…we just keep following the crystal?" Tobias asked.

"Yea, I suppose so." I stared at the little trinket worn around my neck, "I assume it'll keep us heading north."

"It's the North Pole, so besides obviously dressin' up warm we gotta pack the most important things on our journey." Tawna came in with full leadership voice like she was in a military meeting, "That means first aids, blankets, flashlights, matches to start fire, lots of-"

"Matches!" I cried, "Where the hell would we light a fire with matches? There's no trees anywhere!"

"Crash, it's called "being prepared." Coco lectured, "Simple things like matches can help a lot in dangerous situations."

"Alright, alright!" I gasped, "Stop ganging up on me!"

"I'm not ganging up on you." Coco gasped, "I'm just saying to be-"

"Yak Yak Yak. Blah Blah Blah. Don't you ever shut up?"

"You shut up!"

"Oh, for the love of-"

"I don't have to do what you tell me all the time, Crash!"

"Well, I'm older then you in the house we live in, so therefore-"

"I'm an only child, but this is normal sibling stuff, right?" Tobias asked.

"Yea." Tawna nodded.

"And when they do they ever stop arguing?"

"When they're not together."

"And that is?"

"Practically never."

**Year 18, Day 157  
**"Okay, we head north." I ordered. Coco, Tobias, and Tawna was to follow me. Crunch chose to stay behind and guard the ship incase more of those demonic creatures attack. Cortex took Nina and Tropy who, to no one's surprise, vanished out of thin air the moment he was announced he was to come.

"He'll swing by." Cortex shrugged. He refused to take anyone else, saying how incompetent all of them were, except for N. Gin whom he gave his respect for not going (he and Brio had to stay and repair the ship).

We were all set to leave, garbed in our warm outfits (Tawna, Tobias, and I had a very snowboard appeal look, Coco had on normal standard overcoat, gloves, snow boots, and her "cute snow hat"…right while Cortex was bundled in what looked like a green trench coat with a white scarf, snow boots, and earmuffs, just waiting for Nina who was gathering some last minute things. When she came out (unsurprisingly dressed in black snow gear), we all gasped, except Cortex.

"Pretty cool, huh?" Nina grinned, showing off her hands. Both were bionic and metal.

"Your hands are metal." Crunch gasped, "Funky!"

"Yea…I ask Uncle Cortex to give me new hands…to replace my ugly and painful old ones." Nina smiled, "Now, when I punch, I won't feel huge pain." She demonstrated as she punched the air, but what shocked us even more was the fact that her hand was extending! After extending as much as she could, her hand returned to the rest of her body.

"It's like my own personal grappling hook!" Nina spoke, "I even got a tattooed "n" since paint just like Uncle Cortex, just lower cased."

"Why did you do that to your hands?" Tawna gasped, "Your normal hands couldn't have been that bad."

"Hey, you wanna judge for yourself?" Nina scoffed, "My real hands are kept in a jar. I'm gonna place it in my room once we get back to Castle Cortex." Brief silence as we sunk in those words Nina just spoke.

"I think we better just move on with the mission." I gulped, a bit disturbed, "We're heading north on foot. The rest of you all stay and watch over incase those creatures come back."

"Good luck, you guys." Crunch waved. The rest followed his example and waved as we left the airship.

"AND DON'T SCREW UP THE SHIP!" Cortex shouted, cupping his mouth.

"AwWw, whAt Do YoU tAKe uS FOr, iDIots?" Komodo Moe's giant, yet surly voice cried out.

"Exactly." The old scientist muttered under his breath.

……………………

The snow was still knee deep and with no snow shoes, we had to walk awkwardly through it. The sun was just rising as we walked, so deep colors of blue, orange, violet, yellow, and pink filled the sky. Beautiful sight. One of those sights you'd wanted to see if you were meditating while listening to whale music. Everyone of us walked without saying much. Cortex constantly stared back to see if the airship was still standing, even when we traveled far and it was no longer in view. He was waiting till he could hear a loud explosion so that he could run back and scold his henchmen for destroying his "precious". Coco was giggling or blushing whenever Tobias talked of a subject. Then she would sneak in a kiss with him while I eyed them like a hawk every 2 minutes. Tawna dropped in every once in a while to Coco. Coco then invited Nina to the conversation who after Cortex saved her life, became much more talkative and friendly. The three girls chatted, screaming with laughter or giggling like school girls. It's like walking next to a bunch of slumber party crazed girls who's just finished watching Josie and the Pussycats. I was most surprised at Nina and how much she seem to act more ditz then goth. When Cortex wasn't too busy staring back at the direction of where the ship is, he instead stared at Nina and gave of the warmest smile he could ever produce.

"The crystal is getting brighter." I muttered. The sun was fully up and the sky was a cloudless light blue. Slight wind picked up, nothing much to annoy us. I kept eyeing my crystal as frequently as Cortex eyed back to his airship which could no longer been seen as of 3 hours ago.

"So, what's your estimate on how much further we have to go?" Tobias innocently asked.

"Well, the crystal is pretty damn close to making me wanna don sunglasses, so I'd say we're not that far." I answered calmly and in a sort of joking manner to lighten the mood.

"Oh, yea, the suspense is killing me." Tawna sarcastically replied, smiling with her eyes half closed, "Seriously, my feet are starting to freeze and I don't see anything for miles, can't we take a break?"

"Where on Earth are we suppose to take a break?" Coco came in, "The whole place is miles of snows, and you expect us to sit on it? It's up to our knees, we'll sink!"

"Maybe if we wait, Santa and his reindeers will come and save us." Nina joked. Some of us chuckled. The little jokes only got us so far through the hours and lighten our spirits.

"Look, okay." I came in, "We'll walk around a bit more. If we don't reach the portal by the time its dark, we'll rest."

"Darkness might not come for a while, Crash." Coco immediately took out her laptop, "Seeing as sunlight might not even go away for months up here."

"Just be glad we didn't come here during when the night." Cortex muttered. "Kids". He's never called anyone "kids" before, not even me. Maybe he felt like a father. He is surrounded by a bunch of teenagers. We traveled further some more. We manage to walk two hours and my crystal remain the same glow. Our watch said 6 PM and our feet must've all turned black and blue. We barely sat down to eat either and half of our body were covered in frozen snow, it was of luck that Tropy came…or maybe he planned to come at this point.

Tropy was the only one dressed the same as he always was: donning usually in tan metallic armor with bits of silver and white, indigo leather covering the parts where his armor wasn't on, a small rounded Chinese hat, also tan and white with a tassel sticking out in the end, and most notably, a talisman paper sticking on the middle of the hat, nearly covering his face (he usually pushes it away). He's had a couple of those talismans on him before, but none of us could make it our, perhaps sans Cortex (I remember him studying on those texts). It was written in the ancient form of Chinese. Coco and I could only read the recent, modern form (both of us from separate, but Asian heritage). In Nina's case, she was only a child when she spent time in Japan before her mother shipped her off to America (for educational purpose and hoping she could help her daughter) and let her to live there for a few years before she returned, so while her hiragana was perfect, she had trouble with her kanji. Not so sure about her katakana.

"Tropy, about time you came!" Cortex breathlessly snapped, "Unless you plan on disappearing again, it had better be something good." Tropy was silent, arms crossed, eyes half closed, mouth shut, staring at Cortex like he was his inferior slave. He was even floating a bit in mid air so that he was taller then usual.

"Don't sound like you own me." Tropy calmly spoke. Cortex made a face as though wanting to smack him for even daring to speak to him in that manner. Before we could have seen something like that, Tropy pointed with his staff, "Come on, I found a cave." Tropy calmly and quietly spoke, as if Cortex's rudeness didn't even phase him.

He started to float towards the way. Cortex, shrugging, followed, we followed after.

**Year 18, Day 160  
**The cave was large enough to hold us all in and deep enough for us to avoid the cold air as night started to come. Although you couldn't tell as the sun was still out, it was 9 PM when we manage to get settled in and have dinner.

Coco volunteered to do the cooking.

"My cooking as improved." Coco grinned as she rolled her sleeves as though she was getting ready for a fistfight, "So I'm gonna make vegetable soup. I'm very good at that."

"I'll help her, too." Tobias eagerly went over to him before I pulled him away.

"Not so fast, Romeo." I grabbed him by his collar. Of course Tawna let out a deep sigh and dragged me away,

"Tell ya what, mate, I'll watch her, ya…umm…talk with people." Then she pushed me away to the nearest person; Nina. Nina must've not heard Tawna because she was too busy writing. I didn't bother taking Tawna's advice and instead sat on my sleeping bag, taking out the latest video game magazine and reading, CD player banging in my ears (which miraculously did not froze). I slowly lowered the magazine at times to see the others. As I smelled vegetable soup from my nose, my stomach grumbled. I was anticipating food greatly. I wasn't anticipating Nina coming over to talk with me.

"Yes?" I asked when she sat next to me, "Can I do anything or did you come just to stare at me?"

"I want to know more about Cortex." Nina hopefully asked me, staring at me like I was a bank full of money, all of them for herself.

"Then go ask Cortex." I eyed him who was busy trying to contact the others in some way. Electrical devices didn't work well (which frustrated Coco when her laptop refuse to go online), so he instead wrote to them and had made Tropy deliver it (although he complained unemotionally about how he isn't a delivery boy) who came back as quickly as he left, then proceeded to standing near the entrance to the cave.

"I'll keep an eye out, I don't need to eat." He gave his excuse.

"I also want to talk to you, get to know you." Nina muttered, "After all…we are cousins." I quickly put down my magazine and cupped her mouth. I then looked around and saw the others still doing their daily things. I sighed and whispered, "Be careful what you say of you being related to me. Most of these guys aren't aware I am the son of Cortex."

"Well, why don't you tell them? Save a whole hell of a lot of trouble." Nina, too, whispered.

"It's…It's not that simple." I gestured, "I especially don't want Coco to know. She's my little sister, a happy, optimistic, bubbly sister who would be absolutely distressed when she find's out her older brother is the son of our greatest enemy."

"Alright, fine." Nina rolled her eyes, "But I still think it's a bit stupid to keep it, really."

"Whatever." I grabbed the magazine again and proceeded to read again if not for Nina pulling the magazine out of my face.

"Why don't you tell me a bit of yourself, hmm?" Nina gave a smirk look at me like she was cleverer then me. I sighed, smiled a bit, sat up more, and spoke.

"I'm 18, my hobbies include napping, dancing, surfing, and playing ungodly amounts of video games, my favorite books are the Harry Potter series (although I'm not as insanely obsessed with them as my little sis), Lord of the Rings, anything from Ronald Dahl (the man is a genius), lots and lots of Batman comic, and…don't laugh, The Joy Luck Club." Nina didn't laugh, she giggled.

"Hey, boys can like that, too." I playfully shoved her, "Any who, I have had various part time jobs, the longest I stayed was in a pizza parlor, when I went to school, I exceeded in English a lot. Hmm, my favorite color is blue, I also like to build model airplanes (my fave one is the blue bi-plane I made), I'm experienced in driving cars, motorcycles, planes, and so forth. Ummm…" I was already running out of things to say.

"What was it like, living with Cortex?" Nina softly asked, "I mean, you've lived with him so much longer then me." It only felt so long since I actually spoke to someone about my living conditions with Cortex. I never even mentioned it again to Tawna after we escaped and made that promise never to tell Coco. It was uncomfortable, speaking about it, but it had that great sense of nostalgia.

"It was like any other father/son." I barely spoke, "…Everything, every little world we had together…it was perfect. We shared, we laughed, we played…nothing could penetrate it; at least…that's what I thought. Then…something happened. I'm still not completely sure, but it happened and our little world broke in two and we were left apart." My voice softly broke down as I finished. Silence between us.

"He's very…different." Nina spoke, staring at Cortex who started to serve the bowls with soup, "Yet there's a sense of something inside him."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Whatever Cortex has had when you two were together, he passed onto me." Nina sincerely spoke, "He makes me feel like I do have a father again, only he understands me and tries so hard to be a part of my life, unlike my real father." I nodded automatically, not sure if I was suppose to agree or not.

"Everybody has something decent inside." Nina softly spoke, "You _DO_ think he passed it on to me…do you? Ya know, fatherly bond, from you to me?"

"Maybe." I softly spoke, my eyes now fixed on Cortex.

"You're not…jealous, are you?" Nina asked me, but at that point, I was too fixated on Cortex to answer.

………………

"_Why can't you just die?"_

My eyes shot open when I heard that whispering voice again. As I immediately stood up from my sleeping bag, I saw the pale white kid and felt my throat clog up.

"I hate you." Then the kid started to run away. With a horror struck face, I ran after the mysterious pale faced kid, not caring at all that he was a potential ghost who could have killed me. I was near the end of the cave with my furry feet near the snow. The pale child stopped and stared at me again.

"_Doesn't matter…if I don't kill you…you'll die on your own account. I just want to do it sooner.s"_

"What! What do you mean?"

"_Why don't you ask him?"_

"Him? Who's him? There's a lot of 'hims" I know!" I shouted as the wind started to blow. I hugged myself, trying to keep warm. Furs weren't helping enough.

The child, silent as always, left.

"WAIT! WAIT! I SAID WAIT!" I cried, trying to run after him no matter how much the snow was stinging up feet. The snow immediately came to my knees and the awkward walking comes again.

"Wait…" I muttered slowly, then I felt so hot again and once again, I fainted.

**Year X, Day X  
**"Crash…why were you out in the snow?"

"He must've fainted again." Coco sighed, "This happens. We're not so sure why. We just think it's a habit he might have developed when he was younger."

"He faints…" I gasped. Coco nodded.

"He's gonna be fine, won't he?" Tobias lowered himself down to Crash who was lying on his sleeping bag again, "Ain't gonna be much challenging when I'm with Coco and he isn't here to drag me away."

I let out a saddening face with the biggest frown I had ever made. No one else noticed but Nina. When I told everyone to get back in bed, Nina opt to talk to me instead.

"What is wrong with him?"

"Fainting problems…he's had these for a while." I muttered, "Ever since he was young. His blood pressure rises, causing him to faint."

"Why?" Nina asked, "Is his blood unstable or something?"

"I…I'm not so sure." I slowly spoke, "I have a theory, but I'm afraid to say it out loud…"

**Year 18, Day 164  
**After another 3 hours of traveling the next day after our night in the cave, my crystal massively glowed to the point where I was glad I brought sunglasses with me. Small, round black sunglasses. It was when the crystal stopped glowing and went back to a whimper when we stopped.

"Huh? The crystal!" Coco gasped. Everyone murmured.

"It stopped glowing!"

"Did we pass it?"

"Impossible! There's nothing but snow!"

"I definitely do not see any portal."

While everyone was busy talking, I backtracked a little, then stopped. I heard whispers again

"_I want to kill you…took everything from me…shameful…Come closer."_

I freaked out inside my mind, what did he want? The whispers died down when we all heard and felt a rumble. Panicking, I noticed a small hole near my feet. I bent down to look closer and saw light peeking out from it. Before I could react, the hole got larger and larger and larger until we all had to run for our lives before it could engulf us. Everyone was a pretty good distance, but due to me being near the damn hole and not moving fast enough, I was slowly feeling the earth fall as I ran. The snow being knee deep wasn't helping my cause either. In a matter of minutes, I started to fall.

"CRASH!" came the shrill cries of both Tawna and Coco. Everyone else screamed after in fear. My falling off felt more slow-mo then anything else, like a scene in a movie. I was falling down the bright lights of the giant hole, almost certain I would face doom.

Then I felt someone lift me up and pull me up on something. I had my eyes closed, so when I opened them, I was on the deck of the Nicodemus which was floating high in the air. I gasped and saw Cortex's cronies surrounding me.

"Ya okay there, mate?" Dingodile's gruff voice rang.

"Ya almost fell to your possible and certain doom." Pinstripe spoke, "Luckily, ol' time boy saved ya." I spun around to see Tropy before me, giving off that same emotionless look. Although it must've been me, but in some way, he seemed worried.

"Are you okay?" Tropy asking that only furthered my theory. He never asked if anyone was "okay", he would usually know. I quickly nodded.

"Good." He went back to his usual self, and then ordered the ship to be lowered. The earth had stopped moving and the hole was complete. I looked down from the deck and was amazed at the size of it. It's as if a meteor decided to crash land to the other side of the world. Once the ship had lowered and everyone was picked up, all of us took a much closer look at the giant crater-sized portal from high up.

"Holy Crap." Crunch gasped, "That's bigger then Tiny's ass!" Tiny let out a mumbled growl.

"Is that…the portal?" Pinstripe breathlessly gasped.

"Yes." Tropy calmly spoke. We all stared down. The portal not only was huge, but unusually bright. While the top surface walls were glowing a beautiful blue, pink, and violet (as if the Northern Lights were in there), we couldn't see what was below or how long the portal was as the further it went down, the more brighter it got.

"It's eerily beautiful." Coco smiled, "But we found it! Now Uka Uka and Aku Aku can go in!" And right on cue, our respective mask Gods appeared out of nowhere. Aku gave our team a warm smile, Uka gave a confident face to his, and the two dived in, none of them speaking a word.

"Now what?" Tawna asked.

"We wait." Tropy answered, "Wait and see who emerges victorious. Make yourself comfortable, this could take a while."  
**To Be Continued…**


	17. Death

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 17:  
****Death**

**Year 18, Day 200  
**As weeks passed and no sign of our Mask Gods, we grew impatient each passing day. Some of Cortex's henchmen and my team (notably Tawna and Crunch) started to make bets on who would emerge as a true God. Coco scolded that betting money on something as serious as the world ending didn't phase either of them. She gave up and went over to Tobias who comforted her.

I spent most of the time in the clinic on my request.

"You've been fainting often and I guess now is a good as anytime to figure out."

"You mean you still haven't?" I slightly scoffed.

"Well, I had the whole "taking-over-the-world" thing going on most of the time, right alongside "Trying-to-figure-out-how-to-kill-you" and "Creating-more-mutants." I sighed and rolled his eyes, happy he always had that sense of humor.

Besides the blood samples he had to constantly take, there were tests I had to take such as jogging to see if my heart was working right, X-Ray scans, scans for any signs of cancer, and other doctor stuff that's too complicated for the average person to know. Hell, I didn't even know that those hearing things doctors have to hear heartbeats were called stethoscope until I was, like 11 maybe.

Throughout the weeks of no Mask God signs, I've been poked, probed, X-Rayed, fed freakin' distasteful medicine, peed in a cup, CAT scan, etc. Ugh, I felt like I was going to die.

"Anything yet?" I asked.

"No." Cortex mumbled, "No sign of any sickness. No cancer, no virus, no bacteria…I guess that brings up to my original theory."

"What theory?" I asked, more out of curiosity as I was too happy knowing I didn't have any sign of cancer or other sickly diseases.

"Nothing you need to know about just yet." Cortex softly mumbled as he started to organizer the papers he had of me. Then he quietly left the clinic. Okay, he was definitely hiding something from me.

………………

As if my fainting was bad, it was even worse with my mind, filled with thoughts of my own. Everything Nina said to me about Cortex, and those faint whisperings coming from that ghost kid. I never bothered telling anyone of the boy, but I knew I had to. I was beginning to think he was connected to all this.

I was sleeping as usual when night arrived and once more, I heard the whispers. I immediately woke up and there was the boy again.

"Seriously, what the hell is your problem?" I groaned. I wasn't so much as afraid of him anymore as I was annoyed, "What is the big deal with you spooking me? I don't even know you!"

"_Oh, you do…you've just never met me face to face, is all." _This time, he spoke in a normal voice.

"Well, who are you?"

"_Your executioner."_

"…What do you want?"

"_Come closer and you'll die. Come closer and save them. Those masks."_

"What do you mean?"

"_Those masks…they should have come out of the portal by now, but they haven't. Come closer and save them."_

"But if I come closer, you'll kill me."

"_Yes."_

"But it's the only way to save them, our Mask Gods?"

"_Yes."_

"Do you have them as prisoner or something?"

"_Come save them or the End of the World will begin."_

I manage to see the boy disappear in a small silvery smoke. Again, I stood still, but this time for sure, I knew I had to tell the others of that freakish kid. The next day, I told the others of the small boy and my frequent encounters of them.

"Why didn't ya tell us about the boy before, especially to me, ya girlfriend?" Tawna asked in deep concern with a hint of anger, her hands to her hips. Her voice sounded like she was hurt that I, her boyfriend, refuse to tell her something as creepy as this. I gave her an apologetic look.

"Look, I didn't think the kid was connected to the portal." I spoke, "I thought I'd deal with him later, after the portal stuff."

"Deal with him later!" Coco gasped, "Crash, it's a ghost! For all we know, "later" could mean he'd have strangled you or something!"

"I don't think he wanted to kill me…well, not yet anyways." I gestured, "All the times he threaten me, but never moved an inch."

"So, he's got the m-m-m-m-m-m-m-mask gods?" Brio stuttered. I nodded.

"Well then, I guess we better do something." Gin ordered, "Maybe we have to go inside the portal ourselves."

"Is it possible?" Cortex gasped, "I mean, what I meant to say is, are we even allowed inside?" Silence fell.

"We could really use Tropy about now." Crunch smiled, confident the light blue skinned man would come, but he didn't. Annoyed, Crunch repeated, "Yep, Riiiiiiiiiiight about now!"

"Forget Tropy, I'm going inside the portal." I motioned, "Head for the portal!" Gin and Brio saluted and flew the airship close to the portal until we were above it. To our great surprise, when we reached the portal, the entire thing started to shoot beautiful rays of yellow and light blue until it engulfed the entire ship. The entire light surrounding us felt warm. Warm enough that jackets and snow boots weren't needed. Nodding, I immediately went over to change, then went outside to the deck.

"Any one else want to come, they can." I grinned and felt very light on my feet for some reason. It was when I jumped from the deck (and everyone gasped as I fell), it felt like I was floating gently towards the entrance...

**Year X, Day X  
**_Was he crazy? _That's what I thought at that time. But then again, Crash has been known to do unpredictable, quick, clever, yet risky things. He was a walking orange daredevil and he loved every inch of it. Everyone stared as we watched Crash fall (or float fall as he appeared to be doing).

"What now?" Crunch asked. I pondered deeply, went into my room and changed out of my winter clothing. Quickly taking a headphone and placing it around my ear, I loaded my gun and started to run out.

"I'll keep in contact!" I shouted. Then I too, leaped. It was beautiful. The multiple colors of blue, pink, yellow, violet, and red passed through me. Every color I passed as I fell, I also became that color. The white light blinded me as I passed, but once I did pass (and it was only for a brief second), I noticed floating flat rocky surfaces. I landed gently on one. Searching around, I finally found Crash who was more down, jumping from rock to rock.

"CRASH!" I shouted. He stopped and waited till I reached him. I gasped for air when I was next to him.

"I am getting TOO old for this."

"Decided to come?" Crash smirked.

"For Uka's sake." My hands cupped my knees as I stared at my feet, gasping for air. As soon as I was done gasping for breath, others came.

Seconds later, Coco, Tawna, Tobias, and Nina joined the party.

"That's all of us." Tawna mentioned, "The others are keepin' watch and we better hurry, too. By the time I started to leap off, those demony dragon things came back. The others are fightin' them off." Crash nodded.

"We better hurry before those dragons end up killing the others." Tobias pointed out, "They're already outnumbered."

"Will they be alright?" Coco asked as we leaped from rock to rock.

"I trust them." I softly spoke.

As we jumped, we felt like we were in space as our leap felt airy. The colors of the Northern Lights surrounded the walls and moved about like a raging waterfall. We weren't aware of how far the bottom was, but when we landed in a large platform, we still had many to go.

"I don't see any more rocks down there, what do we do?" Tobias pondered. So we all spread out and looked around. The entire platform was filled with high, jagged rocks, and strange green statues of some sort that made shapes that made no sense. Only a deep thinking artist would know what they meant.

"Hey, guys! Check this out!" Coco shouted. We all ran to her as she was jumping up and down on some round, smooth, and flat platform floating on the edge of the larger rocked platform we were on. Every leap she made, the thin, blue platform glowed.

"Maybe if we all get on, something might happen." Coco gestured. And something did happen the moment she stopped jumping. It started to spark, as if it was charging itself. The others gasped and we all hitched a ride as the blue platform started to slowly lower itself down.

"Ain't that something, an elevator." Tawna placed her hands on her waist. We remain silent for a while.

"How far do we have to go?" Nina asked quietly.

"I don't know." Crash softly spoke. Silence fell again. I watched the other children: Crash had a determined, heroic face one. Tawna was fidgeting with her hands, curling them into a fist, ready to kill. Nina had on a rather inappropriate relaxed look, while Coco was sitting on the edge of the platform, while Tobias stared at her as if he was worried that she had to come on such a dangerous mission.

"This is eerily content." Tawna whispered, "I'd figure we'd run into something by now."

"Better not say stuff like that or you might jinx it." Tobias smiled slightly.

"Bit too late for that." Nina gripped onto my shoulder (her metal hand literally crushing it) as her other hand pointed to a bunch of four legged creatures coming our way.

"What are those?" Coco asked.

"I…don't know."

We still wished we didn't, but those four legged creatures came closer. They appeared to be some sort of demonic hellhounds. Black in color and with snaring fangs, they charged at us, flying towards us, and our battle began. We were completely surrounded.

"OY! These demon things are REALLY startin' to piss me off!" Tawna dived down and manage to kick two of the hell hounds.

"It seems the more we destroy them, the more they come!" Nina whipped her extended hands around after she told us to duck, destroying several of the beasts, "This is pointless!" She then spun as her extended arm hit a multiple of hellhounds.

"I can see the ground!" Coco cried after she flip kicked a hellhound.

"Okay, when it gets low enough, jump off and run!" Crash ordered, "Concentrate on finding the Masks and less on fighting. Do it only if they get in your way!" He wrestled a hellhound off him who nearly bit him on the shoulder. I kept a safe distance from them and shot them with my gun.

When the platform lowered, we all leaped in unison and read like the dickens. Anything that got in our path, we kicked, punched, and shot our way through. We had mere assumption we were going the right way. The walls were still filled with Northern Light colors while the rocky ground we were on was an eerie cerulean. The hellhounds were very persistent folks. As we slowly started to loose their breath, the hellhounds still pursued. Unfortunately for my case, my possible old age and relying too much on that damn red hoverboard was causing me to lag behind.

"Uncle Cortex!" Nina noticed, she started to run the other way.

"No! Nina! Keep running!" I gestured, still struggling to keep up until I tripped over my own foot and fell, "Keep running!" Nina hesitated, but Crash gave her a harsh push.

"Keep going!" And it was Crash who ran all the way to fetch me. Carrying me in his arms like a mother does with her infant, he quickly caught up with the others. I, however, was still trying to catch my breath.

"Dear Me, I'm gonna have a heart attack!" I wheezed.

"Crash, we can't keep this up!" Tawna showed signs of gasping for air, "We're all tired and exhausted while those damn…things are still runnin' like they've had 50 Gatorades!"

"Yea, what do we do?" Coco screamed. Tobias came and tried to calm her down. Crash didn't answer. His attention was staring at where he was going, his face caught with fear and general clueless ness. Various "umms" left his mouth as we all ran once again when the hellhounds caught up to us, multiplying in number. In fact, we ran so fast that we hardly had time to react when we all fell from a cliff. The hellhounds immediately stopped and went no further, as though there was some barrier next to the cliff. Instead, they howled and growled at us in anger, peeved we weren't going to be their dinner.

We fell in that floaty way like we did before when we leaped from the airship. Gently we landed on our feet after floating-falling for about 5 minutes. The cliff was already too far to see and there were no signs of anymore hellhounds. As far as we were concerned, we were safe. Once we had landed, I was back on my feet.

"Uncle Cortex!" Nina cried as Crash gently placed me down, "Are you okay?" She gave me a tightening hug which I enjoyed, but disliked all the same as she was choking the daylights out of me.

"Nina, I'm fine." I moved her away before my face turned blue, "You should thank Crash, he saved me."

"I know. Thanks Crash, really." Nina smiled. Crash just nodded, sat down, and gave a thumbs up. Tawna and Coco took Crash's example and they too, sat down and took a breather. The area we surveyed was much darker then the colorful induced walls. The walls still had color, but was much darker. We felt cramped and was sure we entered in some sort of pseudo cave. We didn't sit long as Coco immediately got up and ran.

"Coco, where are ya goin'?" Tawna shouted.

"I saw something spark!" Coco yelled as she ran deeper into the cave.

"Coco, be careful!" Crash shouted, "Don't go too far!"

"CRASH! TAWNA! TOBIAS! GUYS! COME SEE! COME SEE!" She shouted. For a while, we all thought she discovered something horrifying, so when we ran towards her, expecting the worse, we were surprised that she had her face in awe, and in mere seconds, so did we….

**Year X, Day X  
**We saw crystals. Crystals. Big ones, small ones, most of them clumped together. Aside from the normal magneta ones I've always seen, these crystals came in a whole aura of colors. Each colored crystal gave of their respective color and splashed the wall, making an even more gorgeous Northern Lights then the ones above which felt more like psycho 60's trip you only get from too much drinking and drugs. These looked like they were ripped straight from the skies of Alaska, including the beauty and elegance.

"Crash, these are crystals!" Coco pointed out the obvious.

"Oh, we've hit the jackpot!" I screamed in girlish delight, my eyes filled with greed, "These crystals are MORE then enough to power all the weapons I have to rule the world!" I stopped talking when everyone but Nina gave me a threatening glare.

"I don't get it." Tawna came in, "Why are their crystals all of a sudden?" We all moved until we assumed we were in the middle of the room. Then and there did Crash's crystal did glow brightly. Soon, various crystals around us blinked. It was like watching a Simon Says game, you know, that electronic toy that I always lose to the younger henchmen. Sue me, I'm more a board game person, I kill at Candy Land.

"What's going on?" Coco asked, a bit of fear in her eyes. We hunched close together, afraid the crystals might start to shoot lasers at us or something. Crash however, gasped and clutched his crystal.

"They're talking to us." He spoke, not all that loudly, barely could tell from a whisper, "Well, at least to me, anyways."

"You can understand them?" Nina muttered. Crash nodded slowly.

"Maybe it's because I have a crystal." Crash shrugged.

"Well, what the hell are they saying!" I irritably asked. Crash gave me a look, then eyed the crystals.

"Ummm…they're saying this is the Origin of the Crystals." Crash started, "They're welcoming my little crystal back for it was born here. All crystals have come from this place, the one we're in right now."

"Sure is a hell of a lot." Tawna mumbled.

"Miners would pee their pants in glee if they found this place." Tobias added his two cents.

"The crystals said something about how when this world was created, they powered it up. They're the reasons why we still have oceans and rivers, trees, living creatures. The Mask Gods might have created them, but they've kept them alive. We need the crystals to live and let Earth flourish. More humans are discovering the crystals that are more upper in the surface and used for their own use, the world slowly losing life. The Magneta colored ones were the ones were lived in the more upper surface."

"Are these crystals alive?" Nina ignored whatever the crystals were telling Crash and eyeing the blinking stones. Crash continued.

"The crystals sense a disturbance. Many do not come to the Center of the Earth let alone know it exists. Humans were meant to keep away from these crystals here, the most strongest of them all." I, too grew more intrigued by the story then wanting them in my pockets.

"The crystals said we weren't even suppose to be here, just the Mask Gods."

"But we're here because we're to save our respective Mask Gods!" Coco cried, hands together, her face worried, "We're not bad people! We would never harm you! I'm sorry if we used your crystals for wrong deeds, we didn't know!"

"Be that as it may, we're still not allowed here." Crash spoke, "We could be killed on sight." Everyone gasped. I squeaked like a little girl, clutching onto the bottom of Crash's shirt as though I was a scared boy clutching onto his parent for protection.

"But…" We all gasped when Crash said "but", hoping against all hope it'll be good news, "Because there is an even greater presence inside the Earth, stopping the Masks from achieving their goal, we must save them and stop the great presence."

"Great, we'll do that!" Nina shouted quickly, wanting so badly to leave.

"Know this…" Crash's voice was now quieter as he spoke, "Even if we do save them, we'll suffer the consequences." Then the crystals stopped blinking.

"Suffer the consequences!" Tawna shouted, "When we're out to save the Mask Gods AND stop some great presence from doin' whatever to ruin this planet? How about a little gratitude!"

"Tawna, is it truly wise to upset the crystals further!" Coco pulled her back, "This is bad enough as it is! People are hurt, the demons could have gotten the others on the airship, people could be dead!"

Crash took a deep breath and started to walk off. We all followed, though. It was when I started to pant greatly from walking and the others frequent yawns that we rested for the night. We were in a hurry, but we needed sleep.

"This is going to sound stupid, but I have a feeling we've reached the place where this great presence could be." Crash slowly spoke after he viewed the nothingness.

"How will we get around?" Tawna asked.

"I don't know, but we'll worry about that tomorrow." And we slept.

………………

**Year 18, Day ?  
**It's funny how much the crystals weren't kidding when they said we would "suffer the consequences." Especially when one revolved on my poor sister. We were all sleeping, preserving our energy. Unbeknownst to most of us, the ghost kid's whispers came about again. Again, my annoyance factor rose a few meters. Not wanting to wake the others up, I decided to see what the hell he wanted now.

"As you get closer, you're more vulnerable."

"Where are you?" I asked in a stern manner as I walked a bit further away from the others.

"You can't see me, I'm all around."

"Kid, you are really, really getting on my nerves." I groaned, "Seriously, what do you want with me!"

"I'll tell you when you get here and you better get here fast. I have the Mask Gods, remember?"

"You know, I'm starting to think you don't and you just lured me in for a different purpose." I chimed in, not even all that sure of what I saying, "Maybe you don't have the Mask Gods and this is some sort of trick."

"I'm serious…the crystals…they speak of consequences for coming down here. Accidents can happen."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really need further motivation to get you to come down here?"

"What…what are you going to do?"

"Your loved ones…"

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THEM?"

Again, the kid was silent, but he gave a big grin.

"You hurt them, I'll never forgive you…not that I haven't even forgiven you since I've seen your creepy mug."

The child, still with the grin stood silent.

"TELL ME! TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO TO THEM!"

Nothing. I had no choice but to return back. The others all seem fine.

……………………

**Year X, Day X  
**When morning came, we barely ate before we immediately decided to go up and explore further. Crash, however, was going ever so slower then usual, turning his head ever so often as though something was going to pop out any second.

"Crash, relax." Tawna gestured.

"Guys…just…just please, _please_ keep a sharp eye out for anything suspicious." Crash begged.

"Crash, it's okay." Coco comforted, "We will be fine. We'll find the Mask Gods and go home."

"Yea, then we can play video games." Tobias' calm face smirked in, "Life will be kinder to us."

Crash slowly nodded, seemingly a bit convinced, but he kept a worried face all day.

The ground became more bumpy and steep as we headed. The cave gradually took us more down and deeper then we'd want in our lifetime, not to mention darker. Not enough to use flashlights, but all the more scary. Tawna and Nina both kept a straight face (although I'm sure they were scared, too), Crash still retained that worried look (he tried to hide it with a more confident face whenever one of us even blinked in his direction), Coco was clinging her arms to Tobias who kept his usual calm face (looking more like he was bored then scared or determined). I just kept a rather blank. My mind was busy theorizing on Crash's fainting problems. I had one theory, but I tried hard not to believe it. After all, Crash stood this long. 18 years, in fact, I wanted him to last longer…

"CORTEX! WATCH OUT!" I was pulled away by Crash when a falling stalactite landed where I once stood. Before I could thank him, another one fell. It wasn't long before we got the picture that all the stalactites on the top of the cave were sent plummeting down. We ran once more while I was held by Crash again. Maybe it was me, but the stalactites seem to enjoy falling in whatever directions we ran while the others remained attached to the top. It's like they had a mind of its own or enough to kill any moving target.

"Any bright ideas?" Nina cried out as we continued to run.

"Yea, just try and find a freakin' entrance or something to cover us!" Crash cried. So asides from running, we had to look for a place to hide. Because I wasn't the one running, I concentrated better on looking then the others and eventually found a small hole where we could duck until the stalactites stop falling. We made our way there, but something always went wrong when Coco tripped.

"COCO!" Crash shouted. He started to head back, but Tobias stepped in.

"Get the others to safety, I'll get Coco!" He cried back to us as he ran.

……

"Coco, are you alright?"

"I hurt a little from tripping, but I'm unharmed."

"Good, then we better get back to the others." Tobias took Coco by her hand, lifted her up, and ran with Coco ahead of her. Meanwhile, we were all gesturing for them to hurry up, shouting words of encouragement. I felt during this time a very slow-mo sort of sense, kinda like a dramatic scene from a movie. As we shouted for them to quicken their pace, Tobias and Coco anxiously running towards us, a lone stalactite came down on the two, most directly towards Coco. Coco, noticing this quickly stopped and screamed, panicking instead of running.

"COCO!" Crash's scream felt like an echo as he quickly placed me down and ran towards her. I saw Tobias heading in Coco's direction as well. I was too shocked to move and it seemed Tawna and Nina was, too as they instead stood watching, or maybe we were just too slow to react. I think I had my eyes closed as I didn't know what happen until I opened them. Instead of seeing either Crash or Tobias running to Coco, I instead saw her bundled next to the cave walls as she shook violently. I looked in the direction she was looking and I understood why she was so horrified. The stalactite landed on Tobias' torso area. I saw Crash desperately trying to push the giant rock off of him. Tawna and Nina ran to help while I stared hopelessly like a dead fish. The stalactite have stopped falling and we were all left in this saddening state.

"Come on, just a bit further guys!" Crash shouted, "Cortex! Don't just stand there! Help out!" I finally snap back to reality and tried to push the rock away from Tobias. The poor boy was hopelessly trying to breath in air.

"Cu…Cu…"

"Don't say anything." Tawna tried to reassure him, "Try to save your breath."

"Cortex, can you do anything?" Crash asked, "Any medicine, anything?"

"I…I'm not sure." I softly muttered. I really wasn't certain; the stalactite was considerably deep inside Tobias' torso.

"Cu…Cu…"

"Coco, I think he wants you." Crash gasped as we continued to push the rock. Coco just stood there like she was glued to the wall. She was obviously horrified.

"For the love of-" Nina went over and had to practically drag her to where Tobias was. Once she was near him, Tobias slowly extended her arm and placed a hand on her cheek. Both of them were spewing out tears.

"Cu…Cu…Lo…" Tobias could hardly utter a word before his arm stopped stroking Coco's cheek and fell limply to the ground. At that point, we manage to pull the giant rock off, but it was already too late to save his life. Silence fell before Coco let out a howling scream.

**Year 18, Day ?  
**We traveled for a couple of days with Tobias. It was when we reached a large lake that we buried him there. There was no time to head back, there was no way we wanted to cremate and leave his body be, there was no place to bury him. Water burial was the only way. Neither of the group sans Tawna and I could carry Tobias. I was given the task to slowly drop him into the water. We gave our proper respect. I was surprised to see Coco whimpering in tears more then full out bawling. I told her she could cry as hard as she wanted, but she instead shook her head and just sobbed a bit further away from us. We reluctantly continued, hoping to put an end to this. Immediately in my mind, I finally knew what Akio meant by "accidents happening" and the crystals meaning "suffering consequences." This was our punishment for entering a realm forbidden to us mortals, no matter how much we tried to do a good deed.

We manage to reach our journey's end when we saw the end of the cave. The way out was completely dark. Confused, I slowly peeked my head in and saw absolute nothingness. Vast empty black space. It's like a zone of no existence.

"We're going in?" Nina asked.

"I'm going in." I spoke, "The rest of you take Coco and leave."

"Excuse me?" Tawna cried out, hands to her hips again, "What the HELL do you think you are, saying shit like that?"

"Yea, we spent days traveling in this stupid place and you expect us to turn back to the airship?" Nina cried.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm telling you to do." I sighed, "I want to handle this alone. This is personal." Then Tawna slapped me.

"NU-UH! NO WAY!" She cried, "Last time you said that, it was your first fist fight with Cortex. Ain't happening again, bucko!"

"I don't want anyone dying anymore!" I cried, "Look, Coco is upset! She needs to be with others instead of just us!"

"But we're in this together, all of us!" Nina cried, "Uncle Cortex, say something!" Cortex tried to utter a word out, but nothing came.

**Year X, Day X  
**Why couldn't I say anything? Why couldn't I protest against Crash from making mincemeat out of himself? I just stood there, trying to think of some word to get him to stay. Did I wanted him to go? Was I desperate to rid of him? No…it was something else. I believe it was "trust." I trusted his decision.

"CORTEX!" Tawna shouted, expecting an answer. I sighed.

"I trust you."

"What?" came Crash.

"I trust you." I spoke a bit louder, "I have complete faith in your decision." Again another set of silence. Crash smiled a bit. Tawna and Nina stared at each other and both gave a sign, signaling that they gave up. Tawna went over to Coco, and then turned to face Crash,

"I swear if you die, I'll rip you in two in the afterlife!" Tawna shouted.

"Fine by me." Crash smiled weakly. Nina and I went over to where Tawna was. We all watched as Crash was getting ready to dive, but another interruption came.

"CRASH!" The young bandicoot froze and turned his head to eye Coco, who called him. We were shocked when she finally decided to speak rather then mumble incoherently about Tobias or how depressed she was (she blamed herself for Tobias death).

"Crash! Don't go!" Her voice broke down again and her tears came out, "Don't go! Just…don't go!" Tawna tried to restrain her, but Coco struggled madly like she was in a straitjacket and walked over to Crash.

"I have to go! I have to save the world!" Crash shouted.

"NO! IF YOU GO, YOU MIGHT DIE!"  
"Coco…it's alright. I won't die."

"NOOOOO! DON'T GO!"

"COCO!"

"After Tobias…after I had him to love…I had you, Crash. I already lost too many people! You think I'm not happy with my parents death? Now Tobias is gone, if I lose you, I'll go crazy!"

"But you got over your parent's death! You were so much happier! It'll be the same with Tobias!"

"I had YEARS to spent with Tobias! And…and while I loved Mom and Dad, I only knew them for three years! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE ANYONE ANYMORE!"

"Then what? I stay and let the world be destroyed? Then we ALL die!"

"But we'll be together in the AfterLife!"

"NO!" Crash stared at me, his face cringing as he tried to hold back his tears, "Not all of us will be in the same place. I don't want to die until I'm made certain I finish what I wanted to accomplish since I was 16!"

"Crash…"

"No, Coco. You can't stop me. I won't die because I still have to do something first before I even consider thinking about death! Right now, I gotta save the world!" Everyone stared at him.

Coco then fell on her knees and started to bawl.

"WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO STUPID?" She cried as she screamed, her so irritated and angry like the likes we've never seen, "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO SHOW OFF?"

"Coco!"

"WHY? THIS ISN'T FUN! You act like your immortal, but you're not!"

"I'm not trying to act like that!"

"You're SO STUPID! I HATE YOU SO MUCH RIGHT NOW!"

"Coco…you don't mean that!"

"YES I DO! I HATE YOU, CRASH!"

Our mouths were left hanging while Crash's face was one of determination. He had slight watery tears in his eyes. I don't think he blamed Coco for what he said. With her recent loss, it was understandably. Crash understood and through tear stained eyes, he put on his grinning face and spoke, "I have to do this. I don't know why I feel so compelled to do this then ever before, but I have to. You may hate me now, but you'll regret saying it. We all love each other too much. If I die, I die. If I don't, I don't. Let fate decide what'll happen to me, but I HAVE.TO.DO.THIS."

And without a second of waste, Crash leaped into the empty darkness awaiting him.

**Year 18, Day ?  
**It's kind of funny. I'm thinking all this in my head. I leaped to the cave exit and quickly tried to think of someway to reach wherever. I looked around and saw straight ahead of me, a greenish white sort of Milky way galaxy. It wasn't there before. I then saw billions and trillions of stars. Was I in some sort of imaginary space? Did I magically transfer from the Center of the Earth to outer space? I was floating. I stepped closer and wondered if I was to go there, the green/white milky way.

_Have faith. _A little voice rang inside my ear. I nodded, then I lifted up my leg ands tried to get it so I was running. I placed it in the inky blackness or so I thought. Soon, a transparent staircase with bits of white on it appeared, leading towards the Milky Way. It was a path. A beautiful path. Taking my chances, I quickly ran to the Milky Way.

When I reached it, I touched the swirly space glow of green and white and felt like I was being slowly sucked into a vacuum. I slowly floated towards wherever, reaching my destination when I noticed I was…well, more or less, inside the Milky Way thing. The swirls of green and white gently passed me. Every time it did, I felt warm and relaxed, I had my eyes closed as the green and white swirls passed me, but when I opened my eyes, I was greeted once more, by that child.

"You." I gasped. I stared up and saw the Mask Gods, wrapped around by the green and white swirls, unconscious. What was this kid? A more powerful God? My staring was then interrupted by-

"CRASH!" I turned around and saw Cortex…

**Year X, Day X  
**"What are you doing here!" He asked in a sort of shocked, yet pissed expression, knowing I was to run for my life.

"I came to help you, stupid! Left after you after the others made it a good distance away. Sneaked back over here." I shouted, "Uka is my Mask God and I'll see to it that he wins!"

Crash eyed me, expecting something more out of me.

"……………..Besides, I was worried about you." I saw a smile lit up in Crash's face.

I sighed and looked around, gasping when I saw the Mask Gods bind by the swirls of green and white, then I eyed a small, pale child, wearing a white kimono to fit with his paleness. He was some sort of ghost child not unlike from _The Grudge._ I wasn't gasping, however, because of his pale ghost-like appearance, I was gasping because I knew who he was.

"You've come." The boy spoke in a regular voice, "I've been waiting for nearly 2 decades for you to come."

"Who, me?" Crash pointed to himself.

"Just you, until he came." The boy pointed to me, "But that's okay, I think he should see and hear all this."

"Who are you?" Crash gasped.

"I'm you." The boy smiled wickedly. Crash gave his _"That's ridiculous"_ face, since Crash was an anthro and the boy was…well, a human boy.

"I've spent nearly 2 decades building up all my hate for you until I was so powerful, I could destroy gods like Aku and Uka."

"THEY'RE DEAD?" Crash shouted, panicking. The boy slowly said nothing.

Crash blinked and stared again at the boy.

"What do you mean…I'm you?" Crash slowly asked.

"You must be me. You're everything I was to him." The boy pointed to me.

"Who are you?" Crash gasped, his eyes shocked with fear.

"Why don't you ask him?" The boy starred at me. Crash did so as well.

"Do you know him?" He whispered. I slowly nodded.

"Yes…I know him." I softly spoke.

"Then who is he?" Crash shouted, frustrated and angry.

"He's…He's…"I was afraid to say his name. The boy sighed and stared at the both of us.

"WHO ARE YOU?" Crash looked ready to fall on his knees and cry like Coco did. His cheeks were already turning a bad shade of red from his face of cringing too much. The boy grinned evilly and giggled.

"I'm Akio."  
**To Be Continued…**

……………

**Author's Note: **Yea, I axed Tobias. Ouchie-ness. I tried to make it that both Coco and Crash (mainly Coco) has a sort of "insane" feel because of all the crap going on in their lives. Yea, lots of random crap going on. I know it feels a bit hasten, but the original plan was that Tobias wasn't gonna go with Coco and the others on their journey and end up dead through an illness. I didn't do that since I thought a death of Tobias with Coco would be more involved and dead through an illness is basically tedious since Akio died the same way.

And no, Tobias' burial wasn't from Aerith's death scene in FF7.

As for the ghost kid being Akio, well, let's just say things are gonna be even MORE insane in the next chapter. This story is also almost done. Just few steps closer to making the long awaited _"Jak and Crash."_


	18. Adulthood

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 18:  
****Adulthood**

**Year X, Day X  
**"Akio." That name pass through my lips like a cold whisper. It's as if a ghost pass through my body, although considering what Akio was, my feelings weren't so far off.

"Akio?" Crash gave off a puzzled look and I suddenly remembered that I had never spoken of his…err…brother, for lack of a better word. I tried telling him at that moment, but my lips grew numb and I suddenly seem to have forgotten how to speak.

"You don't know me, Hiroki, but I know you." Akio softly spoke, "You are the son of Matsuku Ichigoya."

"Yea…okay, thanks for pointing out the obvious, but I kinda wanna know who you are." Crash was in a fighting pose, both hands into fists, legs slightly bent as if he was almost sitting on an invisible chair, his eyes glaring.

"I am Cortex's son." Akio grinned, "I am you and you are me."

"Cortex's son?" Again he came a puzzled looked, "Are you telling me you're some sort of my spirit or something? My lost conscience?"

"No…we are different, but the same." Akio answered, "You were born from father's blood, but your true parents were merely small rodents who probably forgot who you are let along who you are suppose to be."

"What?" Crash backed off, his face filled with shock, "I was adopted."

"Is that what he told you?" Akio asked, ironically giving an innocent _"I don't get it"_ look. Then the boy proceeded to giggle which seem to echo in the Milky Way…umm…room.

"You're silly, Hiroki. You're a silly brother." Akio smiled, "You are me because you took my life away. You replaced my role as son towards father. You are not adopted, you are something else."

"You are SOME kind of nutter." Crash posed again, "It doesn't matter, since you ain't making any lick of sense, I guess the best thing now is to kick ass." And with that, he dived towards Akio.

"CRASH! STOP!" I shouted, not sure why I was warning him when I didn't know any better on getting rid of Akio then he did. Why all of a sudden could I speak again? God Lord.

As Crash neared Akio, more then a second away from landing a punch, Akio quickly disappeared, reappeared behind Crash, then extended his ghostly arms and hugged Crash around the chest. Before Crash could react, he was flung over the room. The giggles of my once former first born bouncing off the Milky Way walls.

"Umm…are you okay?" I tried to maintain my villain image by not acting too concern, but at this rate, I had no clue what rules should be played out. Crash mumbled something which I only assumed was a "yes" as he got up once more and charged towards Akio. He disappeared again, but Crash, learning from his mistake, quickly moved away before Akio got to him. It didn't matter because the little ghost boy had an odd, but remarkable sort of arsenals. Besides arm extending, he literally blew up his entire body until there was barely any room to move. Surprisingly, we weren't able to go through him like ghosts normally would make us do. With his body extended, Crash had his life nearly squeezed to death. I, however, seemed to be covered as if in some protective layer. Akio manage to return to normal size with Crash breathing for his life. The boy, a few inches off the ground, hovered towards Crash and giggled that high pitch voice like a school girl. However innocent a child's laughter could be, the sound made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

"You are silly." He giggled towards Crash, lying on the ground, trying to recover his breath back, "Father lied to you. You weren't adopted, you weren't even born. You were created."

"Stop…lying." Crash chocked to get his breath back, "Just stop."

"But I'm not lying." Akio spoke, almost in a hurtful, rejected voice, "I died off an illness, a cancer when I was only 6. Then father created you because he had to fill his gap with another son. Before that, you were some nameless bandicoot that I picked up when you were gravely injured. A small, baby bandicoot. I admit, I blame myself for starting the path that would continue to lead into the making of you, but it's your fault, you took father's love all for yourself."

"How can I take your father's love!" Crash tried to stand up, but he must've felt like his ribs broke due to him being nearly squeezed and crushed as he was clutching his chest, "I didn't even know you existed!"

"You still think I'm some liar?" Crash nodded, and Akio squirmed and cried. We were both shock.

"You see me before your own eyes, as father's first son, but you do not believe you were created?" Akio spoke through tearstained eyes, "How can you be so dense?"

"I…I…" Crash looked around the area while thinking of what to say, but nothing came out. His expression looked rather guilty, as if he took that kid's lollipop and ate it in front of him.

"You're not adopted! You are father's son by blood!" Akio shouted, changing his tone from a weeping willow to hell-bent demon, "HE GAVE YOU HIS BLOOD WHEN HE MADE YOU, THUSLY HE GAVE HIS HEART TO YOU!" And with that, Akio suddenly turned into red flames that nearly engulf the entire room. The fires circled Crash and I, both of us on other ends, staring at each other. Then, Akio, who was part of the flame, complete with glowing red eyes, extended his arm, and literally dug into my brains. Soon, the flames created images: Akio's untimely death, the funeral, me working hours on end on that stupid Evolv-O-Ray, Candy leaving me, me carrying the injured bandicoot to the machine, Crash inside that tube where he was kept till he was ready to be "born", and ultimately me holding him in my arms after we pulled him out of the machine. The images stopped and Akio's arm left my brain. I gasped, as though I was nearly choking to death, then eyed Crash who gave off the most horrific face I've ever seen of him. The flames were bright, but I think I saw massive amounts of tears flowing down his eyes.

"So, it's true." He quickly, but calmly said, still with that horror face, "I was nothing more then some freak you created just because you didn't have the power to move on."

"No, Crash, it's nothing like that!" I urged, "I really did love you, with every ounce of my heart!"

"I wasn't adopted…my real parents were a bunch of…animals that weren't even bipedal, let alone talk!" He's voice started to break, yet got louder at the same time, "I bet they don't even know who I am. I bet there're already dead."

"Crash, listen to me!" I shouted, but I could barely get a word out.

"NO!" He interrupted loudly, then he spoke calmly, "You made me believe you loved me…cherished me as your own…"

"BUT I DID!" I shouted, my eyes getting watery, then I briefly paused before I spoke again, "I still do!" But by then, Crash seem to have cut off on anyone as he gave a face as though he had lost all hope. Sitting down, both legs a bit up, head down, I knew I had regretted not telling him of Akio or his true origin. He was so happy…but look at him…what am I to do, I thought. Before long, I notice blackness. I gasped. The Milky Way was slowly starting to disappear and eventually, Crash was starting to be swept in darkness.

"CRASH!" I shouted, trying to run towards him, but Akio's flames kept me back, "CRASH! CRASH! GRAB MY HAND!" But he refused. He's entire body was starting to disappear from the darkness, and eventually, the entire place was filled with darkness.

"I got rid of him." Akio's voice was heard, "Because he took my life." I was starting to fall, fall towards the never ending blackness. I had my eyes closed and all I could think of was Crash…and all the times we've spent together: Watching him walk as a baby, feeding him mashed vegetables, putting on a bandage when he got a cut, rocking him to sleep, helping him with his homework, watching him grow, swimming in the ocean when we were in the beach, our first fight, his rebellion over my changed image, our constant battles…tears came in my eyes…

**Year X, Day X  
**I woke up and found myself back in the Nicodemus.

"OY! Everybody, he's awake!" Tawna cried. Nearly all my henchmen came to see me, nearly all glad to see I was alive.

"How…how did I get here?" I mumbled, my voice sounded hoarse and soft.

"We manage to get back to the Nicodemus and used it to find ya and Crash." Tawna answered, "We found ya just as ya were fallin' into darkness, but Crash we couldn't find."

"What happen, where is Crash?" Crunch asked, "And ya better hope it's a good reason, Coco is already having a tearjerker moment as it is."

A brief silence fell as I surrounded my arms around my knees, "….Crash….fell into darkness." Lots of gasps and shock filled the room.

"What happen?" Tawna whispered. Eyeing her, then facing towards the others, I gave a sigh and told everything. Minutes later, the entire group froze. It was like staring at a painting.

"You're…Crash's…biological father!" Crunch gasped. I nodded, "Well…somewhat."

"And your first born is a revenge seeking ghost…dude…thingy!" Pinstripe continued. I nodded.

"And Crash is in angst because ya kept all this from him?" Tawna nearly exploded. I nodded.

"And Tiny need to go use bathroom BAD!"

"I was wrong to kept all this from him…his true origin." I softly spoke.

"Ya damn right!" Tawna had her arms to her waist, "God, for someone with a massive high IQ, you're such a DUMB…DUMB…errr…NITWIT….FREAKIN' IDIOT! A YELLA' BELLY!" She got louder after each insult. I merely looked down like a dog ready to be punished by a rolled up newspaper. I'd gladly trade places with that dog anytime.

"Now what?" Crunch asked, exhausted.

"We have to find Crash, we have to go down there…NOW!" Tawna cried, "We ain't losing him. Coco will be even more devastated." Everybody started to leave the room, leaving me alone on my bed, cradling myself, as if to protect myself from all the bad things from the world. Immediately after the door shut, I pondered and pondered. I went wrong was all that clearly popped up in my head. Despite the various chattering going on outside, everything felt silent.

"Moping around isn't going to bring Crash back."

I gasped, spun my head, and saw Nina walking in, her voice filled with concern then hatred.

"You're Crash's father, you need to be responsible and bring your son back." She spoke sincerely and softly. My head immediately went down.

"I can't do anything." I muttered under my breath, "Crash has sunk into darkness, Akio killed him."

"How do you know he's dead?" Nina asked. I was silent.

"You're his father; you'll know how he truly is doing." Nina clearly, but softly spoke, then she chucked something towards me that landed on the floor, near my bed. I stared at it. It was his favorite doll, the little elf thing he named "Jack" without a "C", something I'll still never figure out why he spelt it that way (then again, he received the doll when he was a small toddler, he probably spelled "Jack" that way). I started at Nina next who merely smiled a little, then walked towards the door.

"You better make a decision. After all, I look up to you. You fail Crash, you fail me, too old man."

She closed the door on the way out. I got off my bed and slowly walked over to the doll. I picked it up. I didn't care how and when Nina manage to retrieve this from Crash's room, a room where it could only be accessed by a key I, and only I, possess. I stared at its little blue eyes and had faint images of Crash clutching that doll like his life depended on it. I smiled a weak smile from that faint memory. I then notice there was a long, thin, light blue fabric tied on the doll's left arm. Did Nina put that there? Taking the doll and placing it inside my large lab coat pockets, I immediately headed out the door and to the main cockpit where everyone was discussing plans to save Crash and the world.

"What's everyone standing around for!" I cried. Everyone looked at me in utter amazement, "We got a son to save, a world to save, masks to save…a whole lotta saving, actually."

"Cortex." Tawna smiled. I could see Coco wedged in a corner, drying off her tears. I walked over to her.

"This'll all be over soon, Coco." I placed a hand on her shoulder, and then stared at Gin and Brio, "Guys, I don't care how you do it, but just get inside that portal. We're going in top speed, ram and fight whatever is blocking your path, find Crash first!" Everyone cheered, not caring how risky and stupid the plan was. Gin and Brio charged up their engine and seconds later, the airship flew like a peregrine falcon, knocking all of us off our feet.

"Crash…"

**Year X, Day X  
**A lot of risk was involved entering the dark, inky blackness. There was nothing there, no directions to turn. No intergalactic space objects floating in the sky, it was all or nothing. We didn't care, I didn't care. As Nicodemus flew like a raging bird, my mind was filled with thoughts and memories of my time with Crash. He has to know, I did love him…no, I DO love him, even to this day. He's my son; I won't give up on him. A parent never should. I have to make Akio understand as well, I never meant to replace him. I made mistakes and I will pay for them.

"He's just troubled." I told the others of Akio, "I have to let him know I made the mistake, not him, not Crash. It's all me."

As the airship flew by, a blinding light circled us and soon before us was Akio, now in blue flames, and literally 10 times the size of this ship.

"Akio!" I cried, "Listen and listen well! You're angry, you're jealous of Crash's relationship with me!"

"Of course I am!" Akio screeched, his voice as grating as nails on a chalkboard, "You replaced me with HIM!"

"I know, I know I did!" I cried, "I even forgot you a few times, but listen! This was MY doing! I created Crash because I missed YOU! Crash had no fault in this! He was an innocent pawn in my little plans to make myself the perfect world! Everything fell apart…losing both you and Candy…disapproving parents, a life of villainy…I just wanted that perfect world again." I was on my knees, face down. I was out on the deck, speaking with my first child. Silence fell and I saw Akio's face, he looked like a child wanting desperately for his parents to hug him. Then, he suddenly grew angry again.

"It doesn't matter anymore!" He cried, "It's too late to change now! You have to die now!" And his entire body started to engulf the ship, ready to suffocate us all. We all screamed while I tried to tell Akio to stop.

"PLEASE! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" I cried, but I could feel the air cutting off us as his flame-like body started to burn the ship and created ungodly amounts of smoke. I had my eyes closed, but the burning smell of flame faded. I noticed Akio quickly moving away.

"What th-?" Tawna gasped, edging near me.

"LOOK!" Crunch pointed. To all our disbelieved eyes, Aku Aku and Uka Uka manage to come save the day by showing off their magical abilities by shooting lasers at Akio. The two were small compare to Akio, but damaging him plenty, due to his shock at them working together.

"I had you imprisoned, you could not escape." Akio gasped, his shrill voice filling the dark emptiness.

"One God alone cannot withstand what ungodly amount of powers you had achieved…" Aku started.

"…But by joining two as one, we stand a pretty damn good chance!" Uka finished. The two eyed us and smiled gently. This was the first time I saw Uka smile.

"Two must become one, to create a balance, light and dark, black and white, love and hate…" Aku started.

"…Bring about a harmony." Uka continued, "It doesn't need one God to rule this galaxy, but two." And before anything could be said, the two masks twirled together as trails of their respective colors (Aku blue, Uka red) flew by, then the darkness was filled with another blinding white light. How many were we planning to have of those? We all tried to open our eyes and only saw one figure in total blackness from the light.

"Two is one, so did the mighty Gods have been tested…and passed." It was Tropy who slightly smiled, "Both are granted the gift of True Gods…may their judgment and power bring about a wonderful galaxy." His voice faded away. The white light still continued, but I opened my eyes wide enough to see Crash…or so I thought. I immediately leaped off the airship.

"CORTEX! NO!" I could hear Tawna.

"UNCLE!" Nina cried after. I didn't care; I knew what I was doing.

I extended my arm and in seconds, Crash grabbed onto my hand. I knew it was his. The white light still engulfed everything. I couldn't see anything but Crash who was literally bruised and bleeding.

"Crash…you're hurt." I whispered, tears flowing.

"Yea…Akio got me pretty bad." Crash slowly spoke, then he eyed me, "You don't look great either." I then noticed I was bleeding in a few spots, too. We were still clutching our hand as we both sobbed.

"I heard your heart…"Crash smiled, "I…I don't know how…but I heard it…I'm not sure where we are, but it feels good."

"It does, doesn't it?" I smiled, "Maybe this is where we go when we die. Maybe this is the afterlife and we just…well, got a short sneak peek." Crash smiled softly, our hands still touching. We seem to be falling, but it felt…comfortable.

"Aku and Uka are true Gods now." I sobbed, "I'm sure they can stop Akio…then…both of us can talk with him, show that we care. Show him this was all because of an old man's mistakes." Crash still weakly smiled, but his face felt like the brim of innocence, as though he was just a child again. I then snapped back from staring at Crash, then dug inside my lab coat, pulling out the doll.

"Here." I gently spoke, "It's yours." Crash smiled. He reached for the doll until we were both touching it. I'm not so sure what happen. I'm not so sure how a doll did all this, but we were filled with such a warm glow that when we stared at each other again, all our wounds had healed. We proceeded to hugging, despite our main condition of slightly falling into nowhere. Crash finally took the doll and using that light blue string, tied it near his left waist where his blue sash was. My feet felt heavier, and then I noticed we were both on solid ground. Granted, the floors were transparent, but still. The white disappeared and black came again, only this time; there were stars, comets, and other space doo-dads. Unfortunately, there was also Akio who rained down on us, hoping to flatten us. We both dodged out of the way.

"We have to calm him down." I suggested, "That means fighting. You ready for this?"

"Yes." Crash nodded. Both running in unison, we delivered a solid blow of kicks and punches. Akio squirmed and moved about, extending his arms, turning into fire, or blowing himself up. He also showed new arsenals with ways of magical spells, chucking nearby comets at us, blowing up meteors, and the likes. Crash, being agile and clever, carried me occasionally while dodging, and would even chuck me where I would land on Akio's face and delivered a serious of blows. Akio screamed a deadly pierced scream, nearly bleeding our ears, especially Crash's, who's was much more sensitive. Akio then surrounded us with black, angular whips of some sort. Too many to count.

"I HATE YOU ALL!" He screamed, "MEANIES!"

Unprepared on what to do as the whips immediately headed our way, Crash and I hugged. I think we were both ready to die together in each other's arms, but a huge laser sent the whips away. We gasped, turned around, and saw absolutely no one around, but was heard by a familiar voice.

"Akio!" Aku spoke, "You're hatred has caused this galaxy to be nearly destroyed, ripped in two!"

"Hate is an anger which will not go away." Uka's voice came next, "Everybody dislikes something, but you must have the balance of love to counter it. Otherwise, you will become unstable and surround fully to darkness where it will torment you forever."

The main problem was where their voice was coming from. We couldn't see them.

"AKU! Where are you?" Crash cried.

"We are here, Crash." Aku spoke, "You cannot see us for we are True Gods…our bodies are the Galaxy you live." Crash smiled, but his face turned sour when Akio's shrill voice rang as he cried and shrank back into a small boy again. As he continued to cry, ashamed to look at Crash and I, we both slowly walked over to him. I smiled and placed a hand on his back.

"This is not your fault." I softly spoke, "These are the mistakes made by myself, even though I had not intended to do so. I love you, Akio, and I love Crash, equally as my own sons." He still cried, even harder if that was possible.

"We forgive." I softly spoke, "We forgive all this madness and move on."

"We can't cling onto something forever." Crash broke in, "We have to move on." Akio cried some more before he spoke.

"I've been…bad!" He cried, "I've been a bad son!"

"There, there." I rubbed his back gently, "No…you were just confused and misunderstood. It's over now, everything is fine." His bawls turned into a mere gentle sob.

"You…forgive me?" Akio whimpered. I nodded as we both stared. Akio slowly, but surely smiled.

"I will never forget you, ever." I shook my head to prove it, "Know that." Akio nodded, his eyes still filled with tears. Then we both stood up.

"Go to the Afterlife." Crash suggested, "You'll meet our ancestors there. Say "hi" to them for me." Akio softly giggled and stared at Crash as he wiped the last remaining tears left on his powder white face.

"I am sorry, little brother." Akio sighed, "For all the troubles I caused…" Crash smiled, indicating that he, too had forgiven Akio. Akio smiled back and gently started to go into the Afterlife…if not for the fact that the black whips were back once again.

"WHAT?" I gasped.

"I don't understand! Akio understood!" Crash shouted.

"My hate must be too strong." Akio spoke, standing perfectly still, head slightly down, speaking in a calm tone as though this was a daily basis, "It has acted on its own and will not stop until Crash is dead."

"Won't stop?" I gasped.

"Yes, it will haunt Crash forever until he no longer walks the Earth." Akio muttered, "I am…sorry."

"I don't care what it does, Akio, we have to get out of here!" I gasped. Then, to my surprise, I saw Nicodemus far up top, we were just below it. They couldn't risk going down anymore then they have or otherwise the black whips would engulf them, too.

"I can help." Akio smiled, "With my last ounce of magic before I descend into the Afterlife." With that, he came close to both Crash and I. We were surrounded by a white light and saw ourselves in some sort of transparent, pinkish bubble, slowly flying towards Nicodemus. The black whips extended and quickly gave chase.

"Akio, go faster!" I ordered.

"I am trying!" Akio gasped, throwing his arms in the air to try and keep the bubble intact. Unfortunately, with one black whip grabbing onto the bubble, more surrounded it and started to pull us back. Akio struggled so hard to get out. We could hear the others crying out to us, giving Akio encouragement to pull us up, but the struggling continued. I stared around, sweat surrounding my entire face and I eyed Akio, struggling with all his might, and Crash, staring sadly up to face his friends and family.

"Coco's not on the deck." Crash sadly replied.

"Crash, this isn't the time!" I cried.

"I know she's been hurt…" Crash started, "But tell Coco… "I'm Sorry."

"Huh?" I gasped and faced Crash, looking at him as if he was some homicidal maniac.

"I'm…sorry." Crash eyed me, then he eyed the black whips, "They want me…they'll get me." He smiled, tears flowing.

"I know you risked your life to save me…" Crash spoke through tear stained eyes, "But now…it's my turn to risk my life and save you."

"Crash…no…NO!" I suddenly realized what he was going to do, "DON'T BE STUPID!" Crash merely smiled, taking the insult to heart. His crystal started to glow madly.

"…………You won't change….not as long as I live…"

I said nothing but watched in shock. He smiled warmly.  
"Don't worry." He shook his head, "I'll come back…when this is all over." Then he blindly leaped out of the bubble and fell towards the black whip which all started to head towards Crash's direction. The bubble shoot up and I immediately fell to Crunch's arms who manage to catch me. Akio vanished afterwards, heading for, assumingly, the Afterlife. I, however, was worming my way out of Crunch's arms and heading for the edge of the deck, ready to leap out myself if not for Tawna who grabbed me.  
"CRASH!" I screamed.  
"CORTEX! NO!" She screamed, tears coming off her eyes. I knew it was hard on her to loose her boyfriend. I struggled some more, I didn't care if I, too, was engulfed. Nina came to help Tawna and eventually Crunch.  
"CRASH! CRASH!" My shouts meant nothing as Crash fell, the black whips circling him, grabbing onto him and pulling him in further. I could not see his face, so all I did was scream. The airship started to fly away in full speed as the black whips not only circled Crash, but started to circle the entire space-like area.  
"AKU! UKA! HELP US! SOMEBODY!" Gin and Brio cried out as they both steered the ship, hoping to find some sort of exit. Sure enough, a wormhole came out of nowhere, and the two took this as an escape route.

"HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRROKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!"

I felt another blinding white light.

"_As time passes, many different things will come to you and those close to you. The time when the Gods return will be at hand and when it does, a difference will be made. I have seen it…I could stop it, stop this tragedy from ever happening. As we gained something, we lose something. I could stop it…but it is not right to trifle so much on the power of time."_

"_If I kill you, the future will not go the way it was meant to. Destiny will not be fulfilled. Everything is connected, everything is a balance."_  
**To Be Continued…**


	19. Hope

**Experiment Bandicoot  
****Chapter 19:  
****Hope**

**Duties Stripped  
**"**You've done quite a lot of damage, Tropy."**

"Yes, I know."

"**Foreshadowing events to Cortex, letting that bald headed man survive when he was suppose to have died in that Akio event, and most importantly, letting Crash die. What do you have to say for this?"**

"I have no regrets. Crash's death sets upon a chain of events for something much greater then this."

"**But he was suppose to live. I know it's for a much greater good, a much higher goal to score, but it is not their business neither yours to squeeze into another galaxy's business."**

"This will benefit both Cortex and Coco who's hearts have broken."

"**Does that talisman on your forehead mean nothing to you? We control you with that and you do your duty for us! How on Earth did you regain a free will?"**

"…I…I don't know."

"_He gained it by showing off his care for the greater goods and the people around him. As much as a machine Tropy is, he possesses a growing heart in his organic side and is showing his concern for those lesser then us."_

"**So…Tropy, you have mortal feelings."**

"………..Perhaps."

"**You let emotions get in the way of your duty. We should destroy you on the spot."**

"_But you've done us a great service for hundreds of years now. We, the Time Council has decided to merely strip you of your immediate powers."_

"…….!"

"**I am sorry, Tropy, but this is your punishment. You can no longer travel through time and space let along manipulate it. Your basic powers may stay. And you are no longer the main Time Guardian of this galaxy, a job we will give to someone else."**

"……….."

"**I am sorry, Tropy."**

"….No, you're not."

**Is it over….?  
**Our final adventure…it was two years ago. Everything has changed. Our lives turned for the better. Our life of evil and villainy now over, everyone of us moved on. My henchmen, no longer called that, but friends, have all left my castle. The only ones who lives inside this desolate place was Coco and I. Coco was Crash's brother, so in a way, she was my daughter, it felt appropriate that she live inside these hollow walls. Her attitude has changed dramatically because of the major impacts of her life: she's more sarcastic and insulting. We all think that's part of her growing up as well. She IS 16. Tawna, however remains the same, personality-wise. She's almost turning 21 and is spending a great deal on her job as a martial arts teacher to the kids at Coco's orphanage. Crash's house is also vacant, no one truly living in it. Polar and Pura, however, comes by occasionally to see that the house is still intact. Everything in Crash's room in that little house was sent over here where I placed them all in Crash's room, locking the door once again. The only missing item, being his doll, carried to his death.

When Crash died, he left behind something. As soon as we escaped that wretched warped space-like place, we immediately landed on a beach that was practically coned as my castle's backyard. As we all got off, all we did was stare out in silence. I walked closer to the water on the beach and said nothing. My comrades said nothing. Tawna said nothing as she clutched onto Coco who refused to stand up properly.

As the water rushed past my feet, all I did was stare at the night sky, hoping by all hope that Crash'll fall down from the stars and into my arms. Losing Crash was the final step in my grave and I just wanted to die just then and there right now. Finally, Tawna tried her might to speak with me.

"Cortex…listen…I…" Her words didn't reach far. She had no clue how to speak to me.

"I deserved this." I softly muttered. As small sobs and tears came down on my face, my eyes shut tight until a small, white glow came atop me. An object lowered down before me and as I curiously extended my arms, I got an item that made me even more upset: Crash's crystal kept in a necklace (or in this case, a dog collar, which many teenagers seem to enjoy wearing). The crystal made a faint glow, and then it grew dull. I wailed…

**Alone in a world I refuse to believe in…  
**That crystal was the only thing of Crash's that I did not place in his room. Instead, it was out in plain view on my desk in my room. No one dared touched it, including myself. It just stayed there for the past two years gathering dust. I continue writing journal entries and mainly staring outside my castle windows. I haven't left my home in two years. My ruling system turned over to others. Whatever politics they decide is up to them, I just told them to leave me be in my castle for the reminder of my life. Tawna was usually the one motivating me to get out. Unlike Coco and I, Tawna had an exceptionally strong will and has slowly moved on with her life. That included trying to get me out of my home.

"Come on, Cortex, the little kids are making up rumors sayin' your place is haunted and such!" She would cry out.

"Let them think whatever they want." I would speak in a soft, quiet, depressed voice, "I don't care." It got to the point where I was a likely candidate for clinical depression. No pills I took, all I did was mope. Yet two years have passed and I haven't died of grief.

Coco wasn't doing so well either. She had her own way of depression, mainly acting like a rebellious teenager. She didn't smoke or do drugs of that sort; she just got into a lot of arguments and turned cold.

"Tobias left me…Crash left me…my parents left me! Who else can I turn to!"

"Coco, ya still have us, mate."

"Yea, Tawna…you and Cortex and the others. I appreciate the friendship, but that's all the love I plan to give! I…I reject love!"

While she does leave the castle to do what teenagers usually does, her personality has turned harsh and bitter, cynical and pessimistic. Basically, she was acting like a typical rebellious, angst teenager. Tawna herself even admitted it might just be a stage and in time, she'll accept what has happen, but at age 16, she had an awful long way to go. Usually when Tawna wasn't busy trying to drag me out of my house, she'd concentrate on her efforts to cheer up Coco.

**Where are you all now?  
**The others, like I mentioned, have moved on. **Gin and Brio** does their best to try and keep up with me. "Try" because I refused to answer phones (I cut off my phone line), doorbells, e-mails, letters, and even carrier pigeon. Tawna basically barges in my castle to speak with me. Last I checked, Gin is working as a weapons designer for the American army and Brio is a local bartender in Citadel City. Both get together as frequently as can, so they hardly miss each other or me (as they frequently try to visit me as well).

**Crunch and Tiny** I heard has worked together to create many exercise programs. The two have become wonderful friends. Crunch also continued to serve in the army which he joined some time ago (I'm not too sure when he joined). **Koala Kong** landed a big role in a film as told by Tawna from various magazines and TVs (another thing I haven't touched either). It's this supposed big action film with him starring next to Tom Cruise, whoever that man is. **Papu Papu** returned to his village and settled scores with them, saying he'll work harder and become less lazy. Last I check, I heard he actually lost a few pounds and enjoys a more active life. I also heard he found himself a wife.

I believe **Pinstripe** is in New Jersey. I heard he became a used car's salesmen, but secretly operates his own Mafia. He wouldn't tell me and kept shut about the latter. As for the **Komodo Bros**, well…last I heard, they briefly worked as showcases of their sword throwing skills at the Ringley Bros. circus until they were fired when Moe (from what I've been told) set off the stampede of elephants on account he was drunk. Now they're mining for diamonds and selling them off. **Ripper Roo**, from what has been told, has published a book after years of studying, then I heard he ran for governor in America (not sure where), before ultimately reached his goal as the current President of America. **Dingodile**, last I heard was teaching English at a local school. Apparently, he's love for Shakespeare caused him to get himself a teacher's degree. Although I heard a lot of kids were intimidated by him because he kept carrying his flamethrower around before Tawna had to be the one to convince him that taking that is not required for school.

As for **Nina**, she stayed with me for the duration of the two years before she returned to her mother in Japan. I heard she's doing wonderful in school even though Hanako is still trying to get used to her metal hands.

The world seems to be in balance, nothing destroyed of that sort. The Mask Gods must be doing a good job. Tawna once asked what happen to the Four Elemental mask gods to Tropy when he came by unexpected as he usually does.

"Last I heard they're being severely punished by Aku and Uka because they wreaked another planet somewhere far off."

"Last you heard? You mean you don't know? You always know!"

"………….."

Tropy. I have no clue what he still does. I naturally assume he is still a time traveler, although lately his constant reappearance and disappearance has been lacking. Some say he's duty as Time Guardian was replaced, but he refuse to speak on anything pertaining to his life, no matter how much Tawna begged to know. I finally manage to get Tawna to leave him be. Let him deal with his own problems.

**Is there…?  
**Did I wanted to die so badly after Crash's death? Yes. I spent two years in utter depression, hoping grief would kill me. But every once in a while, a small voice in my head would pop inside of me and tell me to stop acting like such a damn fool and leave your remaining lives to it's fullest. I assumed that's the one thing keeping myself from dying for the past two years. As I look back at my previous entries, I see how utterly depressed I was, yet someone manage to show some signs of clinging onto hope. Not a day goes by that I don't dream of being in Crash's arm. My most recent one later became my most frequent…

I am in a clear road surrounded by Cherry Blossoms. The area is white and seems to cover every aspect of the area except me and the trees and road. It's as if the white has me surrounded. I'm wearing a white kimono and I smile softly. I see Crash not far from where I am who smiles back, waving, while donning a suit, complete with a top hat. All white like my kimono. Neither of us uttered a word as the wind blows the cherry blossom leaves. Instead we just stare and smile. Crash extends his hand and I touch it gently. We hold hands as we talk down the road where a bright white light shines towards us. There, both of us see people…our family.

I felt a sense of serenity whenever I had that dream. I've even begun to…smile a bit. Was it a sign? Could be. I sat on my chair, starring out the night sky as usual until a bright glow came from behind me. I quickly turned around to see it was coming from my desk. I rushed over to confirm what I had seen and picked up the glowing object…his crystal. His crystal was glowing. Glowing brightly as if it found treasures and was hastily trying to tell me. I gasped, stunned at what I had seen. For some reason now, my feet carried me off to the balcony from my room where the crystal slowly pointed to the stars. I saw a green star twinkling brighter then the others. I gasped then stared at the little crystal which its bright glow has dimmed down, but quietly glowed in my hands. It felt…warm.

All I did was smile. As a tear left my face, I smiled and even chuckled a bit. With my eyes closed, I held that crystal close to my heart and muttered the word…

"_Hiroki…."_

Perhaps…there is hope…

…………………

**Author's Note: **And that's the end of that chapter! Yep! I am done! Finished, completed. I figured this fanfic would be much shorter then _"Jak II Chronicles"_. I intended it anyways. Basically, with this fic done, all I need to do is re edit and give _"Jak II Chronicles"_ the much needed Director's Cut edition feel. Afterwards, I can work on my long anticipated _"Jak and Crash"_, the sequel to both this fic and "Jak II chronicles" and end of the Blue Curtain Trilogy. So, I hope you'll look forward to it. I'll also (if I have time and feel motivated) make a short comic that takes place after both _"Experiment Bandicoot"_ and _"Jak II Chronicles" _and before _"Jak and Crash"_. A comic that deals with both galaxy's worlds. Kinda like the _FFX: Eternal Calm_ video.

Thanks to those who spent their time wasting their life reading this durn fic. I had a wonderful time writing (and rewriting) this thing. I admit the last few chapters seem to have rushed by pretty damn fast and I apologized. I actually had some extra scenes, but it felt redundant at best, so I cut them off. So sorry. I'm aware that Coco's behavior doesn't make a fitting ending, but just wait for the next fanfic to end my Blue Curtain trilogy. Oh, and that includes the ending. As for the other characters, some I gave their jobs and future lives based on the Crash Team Racing ending, some I made my own just because I felt more happier with it.

Again, I thank you all for reading my fanfics. I appreciate it. It was one of my many motivations to get movin' and continue this fic through the end. Oh, and the first scene with Tropy is done in 3rd person, no 1st person stuff here. If you're confused by the scene going there, then good. It's meant to in a way, questions better left to answer another time…

With that said, I'm off to another world of fanfics. Until then…see ya later.


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